Woman was groomed by officer who 'abused his position of trust'
Woman who went to the Met for help after receiving threats from an ex claims she was groomed by officer who sent her suggestive messages, told her not to trust her loved ones and didn’t even log her reports
- Anonymous woman, from UK, recalled suffering tirade of abuse from ex-partner
- She went to Met police and was offered support by policeman in his early 50s
- Said relationship became inappropriate and soon found out she wasn’t only one
A woman who went to the Met for help when she was in a ‘seriously bad way’ after receiving threatening messages from an ex-partner has claimed that she was groomed by one of their officers who took advantage of her vulnerability.
The anonymous woman, from the UK, is one of many to come forward to share their experiences in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder at the hands of a serving cop.
Wayne Couzens abducted Miss Everard in Clapham Common during a ‘fake arrest’ before he kidnapped, raped and murdered her.
Speaking to The Metro, the woman in question recalled how she had been receiving a tirade of abuse from an ex-partner over a series of months when she decided to report the matter to the police.
Despite initially thinking police officer, who she refers to as PC X – a man in his early 50s – was ‘very helpful and understanding,’ she claims it wasn’t long before things took an inappropriate turn – adding that he abused his position of power.
‘The nature of the way PC X would talk to me did change and he got more and more inappropriate as time went on,’ she said. ‘I do think there was an understanding that things would progress to a sexual relationship – but I was just so pleased to have a police officer on my side.’
An anonymous woman, from the UK, is one of many to come forward to share their experiences in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder at the hands of a serving cop. Pictured, stock image
The woman explained that after being bombarded with vile text messages and threatening phone calls, along with disturbing parcels sent to her house by her ex-partner, she developed PTSD and got to the point where she no longer wanted to be alive.
Over the course of a few months, she reported the abuse to the police but little was done to help. Shortly after, she found out her abuser had reported her for a made up crime, accusing her of harassment.
After losing her tempter with the police at the shock of what she was hearing, two officers soon appeared at her door – including PC X.
She went on to say that he made her feel like she was actually being listened to and on leaving, gave her a ‘big hug,’ along with his personal number, before urging her to call him ‘any time, day or night.’ He even suggested the pair go for coffee.
‘It might sound silly now but at that point in time, it didn’t feel inappropriate,’ she explained. ‘I was desperate and just felt so glad that someone was finally going to help me.’
The woman went on to explain that a week later she sent PC X a message asking if he was still happy to help her.
Months of text messages and phone calls ensued and following another threatening phone call from her ex-partner, PC X reassured her everything would be fine.
According to the woman, who by this time had been listed as a vulnerable person, PC X urged her to only speak with him and no other officers, and even went so far as to tell her to distance herself from her loved ones.
It comes in the wave of sadness and disgust over the police officer murder of Sarah Everard
But in time, she explained how PC X stopped replying to her messages – which by this point included innuendos – so she decided to make a complaint because she was still living in fear of her abuser.
It was only when she mentioned to another police officer that PC X would frequently call her on his mobile, that things started to unravel.
She learned PC X hadn’t actually been logging any of the crime reports she had been sending over to him – and only now was it being listed as a proper crime.
‘I now feel sure that he was grooming me, hoping to become my sole support network and isolate me from my friends and family,’ she explained. ‘His intention was for me to repay the “help” he was offering me with a sexual relationship.’
‘Looking back, I can see it as very coercive and predatory behaviour – but at the time, I was vulnerable and I liked having on my side.’
But things took an even worse turn when she learned that she wasn’t the only one who had been subjected to PC X’s inappropriate behaviour.
Around the time he had stopped taking her calls, she found out another woman – who had started a sexual relationship with him – attempted to take her own life as a result of his controlling behaviour towards her.
However, continuing to deal with the relentless fear of her ex, she explained how professional Standards reached out and it wasn’t until 18 months later that she heard from PC X again.
Receiving a call out of the blue, he reeled off lots of details about her – including clothes she’d been wearing and where she’d been going – along with sexual things which left her feeling ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘dirty.’
Despite reporting PC X when the calls continued, the woman explained that because he had resigned the day before he called her again, the police said there wasn’t much they could do.
The woman explained that while PC X has been found guilty of gross misconduct for his behaviour with the other person in question, and no longer works for the police, she doesn’t believe enough has been done.
‘Do I still live in fear? I do,’ she said. ‘Am I convinced that there are other victims? Yes. Do I worry that this man could strike again? Absolutely. Have the police done enough? Definitely not.
A spokesperson for Met Police told FEMAIL: ‘The former police constable resigned from the Met in July 2019.
At that time he was subject to disciplinary proceedings. A hearing held at a later date found that had he still been a Met officer, he would have been dismissed.
There is an ongoing investigation into the former officer following receipt of a complaint from a member of the public, made after he had resigned. While this is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment any further.’
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