Porn-sharing ex-officer denied rejoining NSW Police

Claiming he was “just joking around”, a former NSW constable has failed in his attempt to rejoin the NSW Police after sharing sexual videos with colleagues.

A former NSW police officer who spent 18 months sharing pornography and sexual material with colleagues has been blocked from returning to the force, with the state’s Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) upholding his dismissal as fair and justified.

Alexander Cox, 31, was formally stood down as a constable with the Sydney City Police Area Command in March this year after it was revealed he had shared explicit images, videos, and audio with colleagues in 2019 and 2020.

Despite dismissing the allegations as a “witch hunt” in a written response regarding the sharing of inappropriate material and claiming he was “just joking around”, Cox was sacked from the NSW Police Force in March 2025.

Cox challenged his dismissal, insisting his actions didn’t breach any ethical rules, statutes, or regulations, pointed out that none of the officers had raised complaints, and described the incident as a “grossly unfair exaggeration” that was being equated to sexual harassment.

The commissioner was presented with five allegations of misconduct that had surfaced at the time of Cox’s sacking.

The first incident occurred in August 2019 during a social getaway to Watagans National Park, where Cox allegedly discussed a sexual encounter with his former girlfriend with a female colleague and other colleagues one evening.

It was also alleged that Cox then showed the group a video of two people, with the female officer stating that she “briefly observed a video of a person whom she believed to be Mr Cox and an unknown female having sexual intercourse and that she did not want to watch it”.

Another incident presented to the commission involved Cox discussing his “sex video” during a work Christmas trip to the Hunter Valley in November 2022.

The commission was told that Cox allegedly showed a female colleague a video of himself “lying on his back with his phone recording from his chest”, in which “he was naked with a naked female sitting on top of him with her back toward him, moving up and down”.

IRC deputy president Jane Paingakulam described Cox as “an unimpressive witness”, pointing to inconsistencies between his written statements, cross-examination, and prior evidence given in criminal proceedings.

The commissioner cited an example in which Cox contradicted himself about whether an off-duty group trip in 2019 was a private holiday or a “team-building exercise”.

While several witnesses provided glowing character references, describing Cox as an “exceptional police officer” with a “phenomenal” work ethic, the commissioner concluded that he “lacks insight into the seriousness of his misconduct”.

“Both Mr Cox’s disposition and his apparent lack of candour do not reflect well on him,” the commissioner said.

The commissioner upheld the NSW Police Commissioner’s decision to dismiss Cox, ruling it was not “harsh, unreasonable, or unjust” and rejected his application.