Officer who faked child sex attack report is jailed
PC FABRICATED STORY AFTER HEDGE TRIMMINGS DISPUTE
A POLICE officer from Southall has been jailed after fabricating a story about a man he was in a dispute with carrying out a child sex attack in Uxbridge.
Hitesh Lakhani had been feuding with a man over hedge trimmings in his front garden which spilled onto the street, leading him to abuse his position as a PC and make up a story about him sexually abusing a child.
PC Lakhani, 42, claimed to have witnessed the man standing in a bush and calling out to a young girl, aged around five, who was walking with her mum, to join him in the hedge on September 5 2018.
Lakhani claimed the man then pulled down his shorts and grabbed the little girl’s hand and made her touch him, before the mum noticed she was missing and called out to her, allowing her to break free.
The police officer from Southall, who was off-duty at the time, then claimed to have confronted the man and taken his picture. Police were called to the scene and he showed them the picture.
That photo was then circulated across all of Hillingdon police’s social media pages in order to identify the “suspect” and appealed for anyone who knew him to call police or Crimestoppers.
However, when detectives investigated the CCTV evidence from a neighbouring house, they had conclusive proof there was no way the attack could have taken place.
PC Lakhani, of the West Area Command Unit, was charged with perverting the court of justice and pleaded not guilty.
A jury convicted him of the charge after a trial at Kingston Crown Court on December 10.
A month later, on Friday January 10, he was sentenced to three years in prison at the same court.
David Davies, from the CPS, said: “This was a baseless accusation against a hard-working man by a serving police officer.
“Hitesh Lakhani called 101 alleging he had witnessed a sexual assault that he knew did not happen.
“This was a spiteful act over a disagreement about hedge trimmings in his front garden spilling onto the street.
“A police investigation found no trace of sexual crimes being reported in the vicinity, various inaccuracies in Lakhani’s account and CCTV evidence from a neighbouring house, which proved the sexual assault could not have happened.
“The most worrying aspect of this case was that Lakhani, as a police officer, presented as a credible witness to a serious allegation where there was an identified suspect.
“The implications for this victim could have been profound, but we were able to prove Lakhani’s account was entirely fictional and unfounded.
“I hope this prosecution serves as a reminder that nobody is above the law.”
Lakhani continued to serve as a police officer, on restricted duties, until his sentencing and has still not come before the Metropolitan Police professional misconduct panel.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “PC Lakhani remains suspended from duties. Now that criminal proceedings have been completed, a misconduct review will take place.”