Met officer Adnan Arib jailed for seeking relationship with teenage girls

The judge told Arib he was trying to gain the girls' trust to pursue some sort of sexual relationship

A Met officer who used his position to try to start a sexual relationship with "vulnerable" teenagers has been jailed for two years.

PC Adnan Arib, 45, contacted two girls, aged 15 and 16, after meeting them while on duty.

He met the 15-year-old in a park and sent the older girl dozens of text messages saying she was "very pretty".

The married officer had previously been found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard he continued contact with the 15-year-old after first being called to the girl's flat by her mother, who had accused her of stealing £10, in July 2019.

During a conversation in the teenager's bedroom, Arib asked the girl to write her phone number, name and other details on a piece of paper, the court was told.

He then met the girl alone in a park and asked her if she had a boyfriend. He suggested taking her out for a drink, which made the 15-year-old feel "uncomfortable", the jury heard.

In a victim statement, the girl's mother said Arib's actions meant "we don't feel secure in our own home".

Arib was based at Bethnal Green police station at the time of the offences

He also asked the 16-year-old girl for her phone number and if she was in a relationship, prosecutors said.

The girl first came into contact with Arib after being reported as a missing person, the court was told.

Arib invited her out after she had been brought into Bethnal Green police station in east London.

Officers later found 47 text messages had been sent between them on a phone he initially tried to deny was his.

'Sexual undertone'

He told jurors he had been "naive and foolish" but said he believed offering careers guidance to the two girls was part of his wider policing duties.

Judge Deborah Taylor said: "What is clear from the evidence in this case is that there was a sexual undertone to your behaviour.

"Once the jury had rejected your explanation, the only inference is you were trying to gain their trust to pursue some sort of sexual relationship.

"They were both vulnerable, and in your treatment of them you abused the public's trust in you as a police officer."