A serving metropolitan police officer called Adnan Arib allegedly told a 15-year-old girl to lie about a theft during her police interview without her mother present on July 4, 2019.
PC Adnan Arib, 45, continued contact with the girl after meeting them while on duty, he invited her out and told another she was “very pretty”.
The officer was based at Bethnal Green police station, in east London.
He told Southwark Crown Court he had only wanted to give “careers advice”.
Guilty
A jury convicted Arib, who will be sentenced on 3 March, of two counts of misconduct in a public office.
Jurors heard he continued contact with the 15-year-old after first being called to the girl’s flat by her mother, who had accused her of stealing £10, in July 2019.
Groomed
During a conversation in the teenager’s bedroom, Arib asked the girl to write her phone number, name and other details on a piece of paper, the court was told.
He arranged to meet her in the park, the trial heard, and when the girl did not show up after school, Arib had texted her to remind her of the appointment and then they had met.
He then asked her if she had a boyfriend and suggested taking her out for a drink, which made the 15-year-old feel “uncomfortable”, prosecutors told the trial.
Lies
He also asked the 16-year-old girl for her phone number and if she was in a relationship, and said she was “very pretty” and that he wanted to take her out, prosecutors said.
Arib invited her out after she had been brought into Bethnal Green police station following her being reported as a missing person, the court was told.
The officer accessed a police report about her and officers later found 47 text messages had been sent between them on a phone that he initially tried to deny was his.
He told jurors he had been “naive and foolish” but said he believed offering careers guidance to the two girls was part of his wider policing duties.
Police statement
A proactive operation by the Met’s professional standards team has enabled a jury to convict a police officer who made “wholly inappropriate” contact with two teenage girls.
PC Adnan Arib, based on the Central East Command Unit, was arrested following an investigation by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards who had information he had arranged to meet a 15-year-old.
He was immediately suspended from duty and, following an independent investigation led by the IOPC, charged with two counts of misconduct in a public office. On Wednesday, 16 February, he was found guilty following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “PC Arib’s actions were wholly inappropriate and I am utterly appalled by his behaviour. Officers like him are not welcome in our Met.
“The communities we serve often come to us at times of great distress, vulnerability and in need of our help. It is our duty to do so in the most protective and professional way. The Metropolitan Police will not stand for anyone who fails to take this responsibility seriously.
“The trust of the public is fundamental to our core purpose of keeping London safe. We only want the best and I hope this demonstrates that we will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect.” Between March and July 2019, PC Arib made inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old girl who he had met through the course of his duties.
In each case he entered into text conversations with the girls and asked if they wanted to meet. He then proceeded to meet up with the 15-year-old who later reported the incident to a third party.
PC Arib will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 3 March. Misconduct proceedings will now take place as soon as possible.
We cannot and are not waiting for the findings of ongoing inquiries to begin rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence that police officers will protect and respect them. We have already taken a number of significant steps to start real change across the organisation.
These include two independent reviews, an examination of all current investigations of sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Met employees and an increase in the number of investigators in our professional standards directorate.
The Met is driven by the values of professionalism, integrity, courage and compassion. We only want the best and will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect.
