PC Hussain Chehab, aged 22, attached to the North Area Command Unit, appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday (January 24)
He was charged with four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15;
these took place between 1 March 2019 and September 2019 and pre-dated his service in the Met which he joined in 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
No verdict was recorded in a further four counts of making indecent photographs of a child which the Judge ordered be left to lie on file.
Chehab was released on bail for sentencing at the same court March 17.
Since this guilty plea the Met has accelerated a misconduct process which will be held as quickly as possible, Scotland Yard said.
Det Chf Supt Caroline Haines, lead for policing in Enfield, said: “Our thoughts foremost today are with the young girls who Chehab exploited and took advantage of for his own sexual gratification.
“These offences are made all the more sickening by the fact that some of the image offences were committed while PC Chehab was in a role as a safer schools officer attached to a secondary school in Enfield between May 2021 and his arrest in August 2021.
“Once the initial allegations against PC Chehab were made, he was immediately removed from his role while the investigation took place.
“We have worked closely with the school concerned, and Enfield local authority, to ensure that there were no further unreported safeguarding incidents or missed opportunities.
“A review of the information provided to the Met prior to him joining as a police officer was carried out and nothing was found that could have indicated his offending.”
She said prior to starting his role as a safer schools officer he underwent further Child and vulnerable group supervision vetting, in line with the current vetting standards for all those who work with children and young persons.
“This news will of course cause considerable damage and concern, not only to the local community, but Londoners as a whole, who place their trust in police officers to go into our schools alongside their children every day and keep them safe,” Dpt Chf Supt Haines said.
“While no evidence has been found linking any of Chehab’s offending to his role, we are engaging with our local schools, community forums and independent advisory groups to reassure them following the damage his actions will have caused.
“The Met continues to ruthlessly target those who corrupt our identity. We have made it clear there is no place for the likes of PC Chehab in the Met and will take quick and immediate action to arrest and prosecute anyone who commits such abhorrent criminal acts, and will work to quickly remove them from the organisation.”
Chehab’s offending came to light in July 2021 when the family of a 16-year-old girl called police to raise concerns about the fact she had recently been in a relationship with PC Chehab, which they believed began when she was 15 years old.
He was arrested on August 24 2021 when a number of digital devices were seized.
He was placed on restricted duties within the confines of a police building in a non public-facing role and with contact with schools or children.
arrested on 28 October, when he was also suspended from duty.
Analysis of further devices also revealed messages between PC Chehab and a 14-year-old girl engaging in sexual communication.
She provided evidence to police that they had entered into a sexual relationship in 2019 when she was just 14.
On September 13 2022, he was charged with the above offences.
source: enfieldindependent
