Sarah Colja began working for Western Australia Police when she was 21. Photo / Facebook
Sarah Colja began working for Western Australia Police when she was 21. Photo / Facebook
A police scandal with a young woman and her middle-aged boss involved daily sex sessions and nude photos before it reached a messy end.
A young woman and her middle-aged police director boss exchanged thousands of personal messages, including nude images, and arranged daily office sex sessions.
The sex scandal began when Sarah Colja was 21 and fresh out of university.
With her communications degree she landed an administration job under the wing of John Purcell, who at the time was the assistant director in the Office of Information Management at Western Australia Police and more than 30 years her senior.
Documents seen by news.com.au reveal they began an "extramarital affair" using their work emails to arrange secret meet-ups.
During the affair, Purcell exchanged 23,736 personal messages with Colja, which included 12 images of her "either nude, semi-nude or wearing only underwear".
In an email on July 11, 2014, Purcell received an image after he "actively invited" her to send him photos as they worked.
Another seven messages detailed plans for "intimate liaisons during work hours", which they carried out on five of the occasions.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Colja said the pair would meet up "like teenagers" as Prucell granted access to his office so the pair could have sex during their work day while his partner, an fellow employee, worked next door.
Documents show the affair continued from 2013 to 2016, despite Colja leaving the force.
She told the Daily Mail she loved Purcell but looking back she realised he didn't feel the same, and the relationship soured when she became pregnant.
"Looking back and having grown up, I do realise his position of power did have a big play in how he could manipulate the situation. I was treated like crap for being in love, all while trying to create a career for myself," she said.
"Enough people knew about it, especially the higher-ups in his circle, that I was known as the 'hussy' at work. And him being in the position of power he was, he had the power to move me to different floors or offices."
John Purcell (pictured) has been demoted due to the scandal. Photos / Facebook
Colja says she now suffers from panic attacks while in office environments and according to her Facebook page she works at a Coles supermarket, stacking shelves at night.
Meanwhile, Purcell has been demoted after an internal audit uncovered the long-running affair. A decision he appealed, saying it was "unfair".
Documents show he claims to have tried to end the affair and sought counselling from his church in 2017 and 2018 to reform his "moral compass".
However, the commission which oversaw the appeal ruled his punishment was "entirely appropriate".
"In our view, Ms Roberts (WA Police's director of human resources) showed the appellant considerable leniency," the commission said. "The appellant's misconduct can only be described as brazen and cavalier."
Purcell did not face criminal charges as a result of his offences.
His demotion means he will no longer be able to access "sensitive or confidential material" and he will no longer have responsibility over a large number of employees, data and a multimillion-dollar budget.
