A year ago California Highway Patrol officers used to take much pleasure playing a private sexual game, and then it all had to stop when a civilian filed a greatly publicized complaint.

So what was this much-loved pastime?

It involved sharing nude photographs of women – and not just the ones who willingly had their pictures taken for public consumption.

At least two sets of images, which these members of law enforcement enjoyed viewing, were of women who had been pulled over for a traffic infringement.

For the officers it was all fun and games, for the victims it was downright violation of their privacy and civil rights.

How did the cookie crumble?

Just after midnight on August 29, 2014 Natalie Sramek was driving along South Interstate 80 in San Ramon when officer Sam Harrington pulled her over at a traffic stop.

He suspected that she was driving under the influence.

The patrolman then asked Sramek for her phone and told her that he would help her call a friend. Her phone had a pass code on it, Harrington made her divulge it.

Next, he went through the photographs on her cell phone.

These were her personal pictures and according to a lawsuit that she later filed contained images of her in “various states of undress”.

Harrington then selected at least six of these and forwarded them on to himself.

As soon as he stole these images, he distributed them. At this stage, it can be confirmed that he had only one accomplice in the crime – his colleague Robert Hazelwood; however, investigation does reveal that sharing such pictures was a wide-spread hobby of the officers.

Harrington is a married man and has three children. He resigned shortly after his shameful crime was exposed.

Investigation and lawsuit

In an official enquiry that ensued following from Sramek’s complaint, Harrington admitted to investigators that he had participated in similar activities at least half a dozen times over several years.

He further revealed that he had also shared pictures of another woman who he had stopped in Livermore. At first the California Highway Patrol officials had claimed this was a one-off incident.

Although the Commissioner Joseph Farrow was quick to condemn the officers, he has been named one of the defendants in a lawsuit that was filed in federal court last week.

In a surprising turn of events prosecutors refused to charge Hazelwood.

Earlier this year Harrington offered an apology following his appearance in court; his wife and lawyer Richard Madsen Jr. were by his side.

“I apologize to my family, my wife, my friends. I apologize to officers everywhere, especially to the two women involved,” he admitted.

The disgraced officer also expressed the desire to move on from the episode.

“I’m trying to put this behind me and move forward from this. I hope now everyone else can, too,” he said.

Watch the video below: