An Indian-origin former police officer in the UK has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for sexually assaulting a colleague while on duty, the Metropolitan police said. Archit Sharma, a former police constable, was sentenced on Friday to 16 months imprisonment and added to the Sex Offenders Register for ten years, the Met said in a statement on Saturday.
A restraining order was also issued against Sharma, preventing him from contacting the victim for ten years, and he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of GBP 156. The allegation that Sharma, then attached to the North Area Command Unit of the Met, had sexually assaulted a colleague while both were on duty was received in December 2020. He was convicted at a court here in March and resigned four days later, the statement said.
Terming Sharma’s behaviour as "abhorrent", Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines said his 'actions were a betrayal of our policing values.' Haines said, “Following his conviction, we began proceedings for an accelerated case hearing which has upheld the allegations of misconduct.”
At a misconduct hearing on June 8, it was proved that Sharma breached the police conduct regulations. The panel ruled that had he still been serving with the Met, Sharma would have been dismissed. The former officer will now be added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing.
"Those appearing on the list cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct or Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services," the statement said.
(With inputs from AP)
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