A young woman at the centre of a police sex scandal has opened up about her 'toxic' relationship with her middle-aged boss and revealed how the pair would arrange daily sex sessions in his office.
Sarah Colja was just a 21-year-old university student when she began working as an administration assistant under John Purcell, the former Assistant Director in the Office of Information Management at Western Australia Police.
Mr Purcell, who was in his 50s and more than 30 years her senior at the time, was in a relationship with another WA Police employee when the affair began.
Ms Colja was soon granted access to his office so the pair could have sex during their work day while his partner worked next door.
'We were acting like young teenagers - making out in cars and all that,' Ms Colja told Daily Mail Australia.
'(Our) daughter was made in the middle of the workday in a Maylands park.'
Sarah Colja (pictured) was just 21 when she began working as an administration assistant under John Purcell, the former Assistant Director in the Office of Information Management at Western Australia Police
John Purcell, who was in his 50s, was in a relationship with another WA Police employee when the affair began
They used their work emails to arrange secret meet-ups.
Ms Colja would also send explicit photos of herself to Mr Purcell's work email to avoid his partner from finding out about their relationship.
Ms Colja said she fell in love with Mr Purcell and at the time believed he was also in love with her.
'I gave him my heart.
'I thought that somebody in his position must be a good person.
'I believed him in a lot of ways because he was older.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
Dean Laidley arrest fallout deepens as a SECOND senior... 'Victim blaming' Australian cop is suspended for saying...
Share this article
Share
'I don't know if he was in love with me or if he was going through a mid-life crisis.'
The affair continued from 2013 to 2016, even after Ms Colja left the force.
But after years of sneaking around, the relationship eventually turned sour.
Ms Colja, 31, said it was when she told him she was pregnant that the relationship fell apart.
Mr Purcell has no relationship with the couple's four-year-old daughter, Ms Colja said.
Ms Colja, 31, said it was when she told him she was pregnant that the relationship fell apart. Mr Purcell has no relationship with the couple's four-year-old daughter, Ms Colja said
Ms Colja would send explicit photos of herself to Mr Purcell's work email to avoid his partner from finding out about their relationship
She now sees the relationship with Mr Purcell as a 'f***ed up, toxic'.
'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.
'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.'
Ms Colja, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications, has struggled to secure work in the aftermath of the affair.
She now suffers from panic attacks while in office environments.
According to her Facebook page she works at Coles, stacking shelves at night.
Mr Purcell, who is now married to the WA Police employee, has recently been demoted after an internal audit uncovered their long-running affair.
Ms Colja, 31, described the relationship with Mr Purcell as a 'f***ed up, toxic relationship'
Documents obtained by The West Australian reveal Mr Purcell exchanged 23,736 personal messages with Ms Colja, which included 12 images of her 'either nude, semi-nude or wearing only underwear'.
In an email on July 11, 2014, Mr 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.
During the audit, WA Police's human resources section accused the father-of-one of failing to delete the dirty emails or 'cease the receipt of such emails'.
Details of the scandal emerged when Mr Purcell appealed against his demotion in the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
In the appeal, his counsel argued the demotion was 'harsh and unfair', with Mr Purcell claiming he had tried to end the affair and sought counselling from his church in 2017 and 2018 over the incident.
John Purcell (pictured) has slid down the WA Police Force's ranks after an internal audit uncovered a scandalous affair with a younger colleague carried out across the office computer system
Mr Purcell, 아시안오즈 who is not a sworn officer, tried to appeal the demotion in the WA Industrial Relations Commission but it was denied
They added their client had an 'unblemished record previously' and had taken 'actions to redeem himself'.
But last week the commission ruled that it 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.'
Mr Purcell, who has worked with WA Police since 1992, did not receive criminal charges as a result of his offences.
Instead, he demoted from a level 8.3 position to a level 5.4, which meant he was 'unlikely to have access to sensitive or confidential material', no longer have responsibility over a large number of employees, data and 'multi-million-dollar budget'.
A WA Police spokeswoman said: 'The matter has now been finalised in the Industrial Relations Commission and WA Police Force has no further comment to make'.
Read more:
Exclusive: Sarah Colja reveals all on sex scandal involving WA Police senior executive John Purcell | The West Australian
A Ciência & Ensino é uma publicação semestral destinada a professores de ciências do ensino fundamental e médio e seus formadores.
Young admin worker makes sordid claims about affair with police boss
por Lilla Opas (2020-05-25)
A young woman at the centre of a police sex scandal has opened up about her 'toxic' relationship with her middle-aged boss and revealed how the pair would arrange daily sex sessions in his office.Mr Purcell, who was in his 50s and more than 30 years her senior at the time, was in a relationship with another WA Police employee when the affair began.
Ms Colja was soon granted access to his office so the pair could have sex during their work day while his partner worked next door.
'We were acting like young teenagers - making out in cars and all that,' Ms Colja told Daily Mail Australia.
'(Our) daughter was made in the middle of the workday in a Maylands park.'
Sarah Colja (pictured) was just 21 when she began working as an administration assistant under John Purcell, the former Assistant Director in the Office of Information Management at Western Australia Police
John Purcell, who was in his 50s, was in a relationship with another WA Police employee when the affair began
They used their work emails to arrange secret meet-ups.
Ms Colja would also send explicit photos of herself to Mr Purcell's work email to avoid his partner from finding out about their relationship.
Ms Colja said she fell in love with Mr Purcell and at the time believed he was also in love with her.
'I gave him my heart.
'I thought that somebody in his position must be a good person.
'I believed him in a lot of ways because he was older.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
Dean Laidley arrest fallout deepens as a SECOND senior... 'Victim blaming' Australian cop is suspended for saying...
Share this article
Share
'I don't know if he was in love with me or if he was going through a mid-life crisis.'
The affair continued from 2013 to 2016, even after Ms Colja left the force.
But after years of sneaking around, the relationship eventually turned sour.
Ms Colja, 31, said it was when she told him she was pregnant that the relationship fell apart.
Mr Purcell has no relationship with the couple's four-year-old daughter, Ms Colja said.
Ms Colja, 31, said it was when she told him she was pregnant that the relationship fell apart. Mr Purcell has no relationship with the couple's four-year-old daughter, Ms Colja said
Ms Colja would send explicit photos of herself to Mr Purcell's work email to avoid his partner from finding out about their relationship
She now sees the relationship with Mr Purcell as a 'f***ed up, toxic'.
'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.
'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.'
Ms Colja, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications, has struggled to secure work in the aftermath of the affair.
She now suffers from panic attacks while in office environments.
According to her Facebook page she works at Coles, stacking shelves at night.
Mr Purcell, who is now married to the WA Police employee, has recently been demoted after an internal audit uncovered their long-running affair.
Ms Colja, 31, described the relationship with Mr Purcell as a 'f***ed up, toxic relationship'
Documents obtained by The West Australian reveal Mr Purcell exchanged 23,736 personal messages with Ms Colja, which included 12 images of her 'either nude, semi-nude or wearing only underwear'.
In an email on July 11, 2014, Mr 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.
During the audit, WA Police's human resources section accused the father-of-one of failing to delete the dirty emails or 'cease the receipt of such emails'.
Details of the scandal emerged when Mr Purcell appealed against his demotion in the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
In the appeal, his counsel argued the demotion was 'harsh and unfair', with Mr Purcell claiming he had tried to end the affair and sought counselling from his church in 2017 and 2018 over the incident.
John Purcell (pictured) has slid down the WA Police Force's ranks after an internal audit uncovered a scandalous affair with a younger colleague carried out across the office computer system
Mr Purcell, 아시안오즈 who is not a sworn officer, tried to appeal the demotion in the WA Industrial Relations Commission but it was denied
They added their client had an 'unblemished record previously' and had taken 'actions to redeem himself'.
But last week the commission ruled that it 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.'
Mr Purcell, who has worked with WA Police since 1992, did not receive criminal charges as a result of his offences.
Instead, he demoted from a level 8.3 position to a level 5.4, which meant he was 'unlikely to have access to sensitive or confidential material', no longer have responsibility over a large number of employees, data and 'multi-million-dollar budget'.
A WA Police spokeswoman said: 'The matter has now been finalised in the Industrial Relations Commission and WA Police Force has no further comment to make'.
Read more:
Exclusive: Sarah Colja reveals all on sex scandal involving WA Police senior executive John Purcell | The West Australian