Met officer sacked for assault on teenage girl

A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked after it was found he indecently assaulted a "vulnerable" teenager while on duty, a police watchdog has said.

An inquiry began after the victim said she was inappropriately touched and kissed when he visited her at home.

A misconduct hearing found the sergeant abused his position when he visited the victim on two days last October.

Scotland Yard said the officer was dismissed at the conclusion of the misconduct hearing.

The matter was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service which found insufficient evidence for conviction.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said the officer, from east London, and a colleague visited the victim first on 13 October 2010 after someone called the police concerned about her safety.

He touched the woman, who was in her late teens, inappropriately when he was alone in a room with her. The next day the officer called her and went to see her without another officer present, the victim told the hearing.

The sergeant again touched and kissed the victim, the panel heard. The woman reported the incident the following day.

The Metropolitan Police Service panel concluded that the "absolute dereliction of duty was even more disturbing as the officer was a sergeant, who had responsibility for the development of others", the watchdog said.

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "This vulnerable young woman deserved help and protection, instead she was subjected to assault and violation.

"There is little more contemptible and callous than such despicable abuse of a trusted position. The sergeant has rightly been dismissed."

Commander Peter Spindler, in charge of the Directorate of Professional Standards, said: "The public look to us to assist them in times of need, and our staff need to be trusted not to take advantage of those in a vulnerable position.

"This officer's actions fell far below the standards expected of a Police Officer and has therefore been dismissed from the service."