Met Police sorry Couzens not arrested for indecent exposure
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Edited by Jamie Whitehead and Heather Sharp
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Couzens exposed himself as he collected coffee and orange juice - prosecutor
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Turning now to the second incident at a McDonald's drive-through on 27 February 2021.
Tom Little KC says after working a 12-hour shift, the defendant stopped at the fast-food drive-through and ordered a large white coffee, a bottle of orange juice, two double cheeseburgers and one medium fries.
The prosecutor says Couzens then went to the payment window and paid using the same Mastercard as before.
As he was handed drinks at the collection window by a member of staff, she noticed the driver had “no pants on”, adding that he had exposed himself.
“His trousers were pulled down to his knees. He was shaking as if nervous,” says Little KC.
The member of staff informed her manager who took Couzens' food order.
As the manager approached, “the defendant looked at him, appeared worried and to be adjusting his trousers”, says the prosecutor.
The police were contacted about the incident the following day.
They were informed of the details of the car and the fact that the last four digits matched the Mastercard connected with the incident two weeks earlier, says Little KC.
“However, the defendant was not spoken to in advance of the events on 3 March 2021."
Post update
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
We are now being shown CCTV footage of the car Couzens was in at the McDonald's drive-through where the offence took place.
McDonalds staff member 'very distressed' by incident
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
We are now hearing about when Couzens stopped at a McDonald's drive-through at Swanley on his way back to Kent.
Tom Little KC says Couzens ordered a white coffee and a double cheeseburger and as he drove up to the payment window he exposed himself to a member of staff.
He used his bank card to pay for the order, says Little KC.
When another member of staff went to the delivery window to help her colleague, she noticed the man in the car had exposed himself.
The prosecutor says she was shocked and went into what was described as “shut-down mode”, adding that she became “very distressed and could not explain to their manager what had happened”.
A colleague did explain to their manager though, says Tom Little KC.
They had a receipt for the order which revealed the defendant’s Mastercard.
Little KC says the matter wasn’t reported to the police at that stage.
Post update
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Tom Little KC is now turning to the first of two incidents at a McDonald's drive-through in Swanley.
On 14 February 2021 the defendant wasn’t working, says the barrister. “It was a rest day.”
He drove to London from his home in Deal and went to the Lillie Road area where his Diplomatic Protection Group unit were based, says Little KC.
“He entered the building for a short period of time before leaving.”
The prosecutor says Couzens wasn’t working that evening and wasn’t on duty.
“His visit remains entirely unexplained on Valentine’s Day.”
“His journey is not dissimilar to that taken on the night… he kidnapped Sarah Everard,” says Little KC.
Couzens declined to comment when interviewed about Deal incident
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
The prosecutor is now turning to 25 March 2022 when Couzens was interviewed under caution by his solicitor about the incident in Deal.
He replied “no comment” to all the questions he was asked.
Post update
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Wayne Couzens is on the video-link from Frankland prison in Durham.
He is sitting behind a desk, wearing a grey sweatshirt and has a grey beard.
He is looking down at the desk as the prosecutor goes through the facts of the case.
Couzens was on duty at time of Deal offence - prosecutor
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
We are now hearing that further enquiries confirmed that the defendant was due to work from home, in Deal, on 13 November 2020 between 08:00 and 16:00.
“It follows that he was on duty at the time of the offence,” says Tom Little KC.
Cyclist provided description of flasher to police - prosecutor
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
The prosecutor is now telling the court about how the complainant came across two women whom she told about the man she had just seen.
One of the women said she was a police officer and said she would have a look.
The complainant then reported the incident online to Kent police.
The barrister says the complainant provided a description of the man. The defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle, which was in poor condition, but in the absence of the number plate, enquiries weren't able to be taken further.
Couzens exposed himself while looking at female cyclist - prosecutor
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Tom Little KC says the complainant was cycling uphill when Couzens stepped out of the woodland, and stood on a bank above her as she approached.
“The defendant was totally naked,” says the prosecutor, adding that he had exposed himself while looking at the complainant.
She felt she had no choice but to continue cycling along the country lane, says Little KC.
The prosecutor says the complainant got a clear view of the defendant and clearly remembered what he looked like.
Location of offence was close to where Couzens took Sarah Everard
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Little KC is turning first to the offence in Deal in Kent on 13 November 2020.
He says the complainant was cycling along Ringwood Road which is an “isolated narrow rural lane in Kent".
The barrister notes how close it was to where Couzens took Sarah Everard after kidnapping her.
“It is only a few miles from where the defendant took Sarah Everard having kidnapped her and after he had moved her from one vehicle to another in Dover."
Post update
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Tom Little KC says the three indecent exposure offences occurred on 13 November 2020, 14 February 2021 and 27 February 2021.
The last of the offences were a few days before Sarah Everard was kidnapped (on the evening of 3 March 2021) and then raped and murdered in the early hours of the following morning, says Little KC.
Hearing starts
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
The hearing has started. We are about to hear from the prosecutor Tom Little KC who is going to outline the facts of the case.
TV cameras now allowed in courts - but there are exceptions
A bit later we'll be seeing and hearing Mrs Justice May's sentencing remarks live from the Old Bailey after a law change last year allowed filming inside English and Welsh courts for the first time. (Scotland has already been doing this for years.)
The thinking is that if the public could see the judiciary process, they could have more confidence in the system.
In England and Wales though, only four organisations can film: the BBC, ITN, Sky and PA Media, and they have to apply to the judge to film the sentencing remarks of a case.
Even then, they can only film the remarks made by the most senior judges.
No-one else can be filmed apart from them, so cameras won't be allowed to film victims, witnesses or jurors.
In recent months cases we’ve seen broadcasted sentencings at the Old Bailey include Jemma Mitchell who decapitated her friend Mee Kuen Chong and US citizen Anne Sacoolas who got an eight-month suspended sentence over the death of British teenager Harry Dunn, and Jordan McSweeney who was jailed for murdering law graduate Zara Aleena.
Couzens appears in court
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
Couzens has appeared on a video link, wearing a grey tracksuit top.
He is asked by the court clerk if he can hear the court OK, to which Couzens replies: "Yes."
He is then asked if there is a prison officer with him: "Yes there is mam yes," Couzens says.
Couzens has been asked to go into a booth so he can have a conference with his defence team.
That may delay the start of the hearing by about 10 minutes.
Hearing due to start shortly
The hearing is expect to start shortly, at 10:40, and we'll bring you the latest from our court reporters here on this page.
Why is this sentencing important?
Even though Wayne Couzens will almost certainly never be released from prison after committing one the most notorious murders in recent years, his upcoming sentencing for indecent exposure is still significant.
Most importantly, the offences are evidence of missed opportunities for police to identify him as a sex offender and potentially prevent Sarah Everard's killing.
Witnesses on two occasions gave officers evidence of Couzens' car as being either involved with, or very nearby, these sex crimes.
The final incident, which happened on 27 February 2021 saw shaken and angry staff at a Kent fast-food drive-through report a man to police for exposing himself to them while collecting his order.
This was just four days before he used his position as a Met Police officer to kidnap, rape and murder Ms Everard.
Couzens was in his vehicle - identified through its licence plate on CCTV - and also used his credit card to pay.
In an interview with officers at the time, Couzens gave a prepared statement in which he accepted going to the drive-in regularly but denied exposing himself to staff there.
No further action was taken against him.
Who is Wayne Couzens?
Wayne Couzens worked as an armed police officer for more than a decade, until he was sacked by the Metropolitan Police in July 2021 after admitting to murdering Sarah Everard.
The 50-year-old's most recent posting was with the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, which he joined as an authorised firearms officer tasked with guarding diplomatic premises around central London in 2020.
He had served in the Met for two years before that, after transferring from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary - the armed force responsible for protecting civil nuclear sites and nuclear materials - in 2011.
Couzens failed in an attempt to have his whole-life sentence for the murder of Sarah Everard reduced last year, when the most senior judge in England and Wales ruled at the Court of Appeal that the crimes against her were so exceptional the tariff should stand.
What we can expect
Helena Wilkinson
Reporting from the Old Bailey
While we wait for the sentencing hearing to get under way here in Court 2, let me tell you what we expect to happen this morning.
Couzens will be attending court by video-link from Frankland prison.
The judge, Mrs Justice May, will come into the courtroom.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC will then outline the facts of the case.
We’re also likely to hear about the impact Couzens' crimes had on his victims in the form of Victim Personal Statements.
Then, Little KC will go through what’s called a sentencing note.
That's when the prosecutor suggests to the judge what might be an appropriate sentence, taking into account any aggravating factors.
Once Little KC has finished, it’ll be over to Couzens' defence barrister, Jim Sturman KC, to provide any mitigation for his client.
The judge is then likely to leave court briefly, before returning to deliver her sentencing remarks and pass sentence.
That's the bit you'll get to see because it'll be televised.
What is Couzens being sentenced for?
Wayne Couzens is already serving a whole-life sentence for the murder of Sarah Everard, but on 13 February he also admitted to three counts of indecent exposure - one of which happened four days before he killed her.
All three incidents committed by the former Metropolitan Police officer took place in Kent, two in a fast food-restaurant in February 2021, with the third in woodland the year before.
Three other counts were not pursued by the prosecution and will be left on file - meaning they could be reinstated at a later date.
On both 14 and 27 February 2021, Couzens exposed his genitals to staff at a drive-in fast food restaurant, looking straight at the workers while sitting in his car as he paid for his food.
Staff took a registration number after the second incident and identified the car from CCTV as a black Seat.
It was registered to Couzens, who had in any case used a credit card in his name to pay.
This happened four days before the then-serving officer with the Met Police used his position to convince Sarah Everard to get inside his car.
The third offence took place on 13 November 2020, when Couzens exposed himself to a female cyclist on a narrow, rural lane near the coastal town of Deal - leaving her scared and shaken.
The victim reported the incident and a partial number plate of a nearby car she spotted, with CCTV and mobile phone data later confirming Couzens' vehicle was in the area at the time.
Welcome
Alexandra Fouché
Live reporter
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the sentencing of Wayne Couzens, who has admitted to three counts of indecent exposure prior to his murder of Sarah Everard.
The former Met Police officer is already serving a whole-life sentence for the killing in March 2021 - and one of the offences he pleaded guilty to happened just days before that.
I’ll be hosting the coverage along with Nathan Williams. We're joined by reporters Laura Gozzi, Jack Burgess, Rachel Russell and James Harness, with Helena Wilkinson and Jeremy Britton reporting from the Old Bailey in London.
The hearing is scheduled to start at 10:30. We’ll bring you live updates from court, and once the judge begins her sentencing remarks, you’ll be able to watch live at the top of this page.
Stay with us.