A serving Sydney constable faces possible jail time after he agreed to run a date's name through an official NSW Police database, court documents indicate.
Vincent John Wendelin, 35, faced the Downing Centre Local Court for the first time on Monday and pleaded guilty to a charge of accessing restricted computer data.
According to a statement of facts tendered in the case, the Professional Standards Command was investigating "a number of complaints" against Wendelin earlier this year and conducted an audit of his use of the Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) as part of those inquiries.
It is alleged that one of the searches Wendelin ran was for a woman named Katy Tickner, who has since told police she met the constable via dating website eHarmony in 2015.
Court documents indicate Ms Tickner texted Wendelin on January 27 to ask if he had looked her up yet.
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"Ok miss, I'll check and make sure you are the cleanskin you are claiming to be ha ha," Wendelin is said to have replied.
The Professional Standards Command's COPS audit revealed Wendelin searched Ms Tickner's name in the database the following morning.
He later texted her again, telling her: "I noticed that when driving you occasionally feel the need for speed!"
According to the statement of facts, Ms Tickner later told officers she had only met Wendelin face-to-face once.
The offence to which Wendelin has admitted carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment, or a $50,000 fine, or both.
Wendelin was placed on restricted duties in May and is next due to face court later this month.
