Met is accused of bogus claim that ‘predatory’ officer couldn’t be probed

THE Metropolitan Police claimed a detective accused of being a serial predator was exempt from its major crackdown on rogue officers due to ‘double jeopardy’ rules.

The man, who once served on the sex offences unit, was accused of sexually assaulting two female colleagues and ‘crossing boundaries’ with a member of the public.

But he remains in the ranks after the only complaint to make it to a misconduct probe collapsed days before being heard.

His alleged victims hoped he would be brought to justice in a review of 1,600 past allegations against officers announced by the Met last year after firearms officer David carrick was unmasked as one of Britain’s worst rapists. Yet documents seen by the Mail suggest the force tried to avoid reinvestigating the detective as part of Operation Onyx, despite an apparent pattern of predatory behaviour.

In correspondence with an exemployee, who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the man on Met premises, the force claimed the case could not be reopened due to a legal technicality preventing repeat prosecutions for the same offence, despite him never having faced a court.

The revelations undermine commissioner Sir Mark rowley’s insistence that Scotland Yard is doing all it can to kick out corrupt and predatory officers.

One of the detective’s alleged victims, who has since left the Met, said she ‘feels sick’ that the officer is still working. Sarah, whose name has been changed, said: ‘Having gone through the absolute hell of the investigation to then come out with nothing was soul destroying.’

After the Mail alerted sexual violence campaigners, the mayor of London’s office became involved and Sarah was contacted by police to say her case was under review. Jamie Klingler, co- founder of reclaim These Streets, said the Met had ‘tried to fob a victim off’.

The Met denied the double jeopardy rule was being applied and that the mayor’s office had influenced a decision. It said it will review every sex and domestic abuse case from the last ten years where the allegation did not result in dismissal.