Police sergeant cleared of sex assault on train faces the sack

A POLICE officer drunkenly performed a sex act on a woman as she was asleep on a train, a tribunal has been told.

Sgt Kyle Blood, 38, was a passenger on the Thameslink service after a night in Soho where he drank cocktails and liqueur shots.

He is facing a Metropolitan Police disciplinary hearing despite being cleared at Luton Crown Court last year of sexually assaulting the woman.

Sgt Blood and the woman boarded a train at Kings Cross at 11.20pm in June 2016 and it was claimed that he performed a sex act on her during the journey between St Albans and Harpenden.

Stephen Morley, for the Met Police, said: “Sgt Blood admitted breaching the standards. The only issue really is consent. Although consent is a big issue the appropriate authority takes the view that it makes no difference.

“We will be asking you to dismiss the sergeant. The evidence suggests he really did not care one way or the other about consent.”

Ailsa Williamson, Sgt Blood’s lawyer, said he admitted he made “rapid advances” on women. She said: “It is clear in recent years that the rules of dating have changed dramatically.”

During his trial last year, the woman claimed she awoke to find him molesting her, but a jury acquitted him of assault by penetration.

The officer admitted he breached the standards of his profession in a gross manner but denied the 31-year-old was asleep when he made his advances.

After his trial in October last year, Sgt Blood was cleared of rape that was allegedly committed in January 2016 after he met a woman on Plenty of Fish, the dating website.

Sgt Blood joined the police in 2002 and has worked in Enfield, Walthamstow and Barking.

The hearing continues today, when the panel is due to return its findings.