Met police officer from Northamptonshire jailed for stalking

PC Gerard Kennedy was a serving Metropolitan Police officer

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed for six and a half years for stalking.

PC Gerard Kennedy, from Kings Sutton in Northamptonshire, was attached to Met Operations when the offence took place earlier this year.

He was found guilty following a trial at Northampton Crown Court.

The senior investigating officer in the case said the fact he was a serving officer made the "extremely invasive" offence more distressing.

PC Gerard Kennedy was attached to Metropolitan Operations, known as Met Ops, at the time of the offence

The victim of the stalking offence contacted Northamptonshire Police who went to Kennedy's home address in Warkworth Road in Kings Sutton, near Brackley.

Kennedy was convicted of stalking causing serious alarm or distress.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228 and was made the subject of a restraining order for life.

Det Insp Ashleigh Houlden said PC Kennedy "was meant to be someone others could trust"

The senior investigating officer Det Insp Ashleigh Houlden said: "It's an extremely invasive crime and I hope this result, whilst not being able to erase what happened, provides our victim with some closure.

"The seriousness of Kennedy's crime would be enough if he were a member of the public, but to have been a serving police officer at the time makes this offence all the more distressing.

"He was meant to be someone whom others could trust with the worst days in their lives, and instead he chose to be the type of person he once swore to protect the public from."

The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed of this case and a misconduct hearing is due to take place at a later date.