Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Met Police officer had sexual relationship with 17-year-old girl who had gone missing

Misconduct panel finds former constable pressured teenager to cover up their liaison

Conrad Duncan
Sunday 19 January 2020 00:20 GMT
Comments
Andrew Brooks was temporarily suspended from the Metropolitan Police over the incident and left the force in June 2019
Andrew Brooks was temporarily suspended from the Metropolitan Police over the incident and left the force in June 2019 (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A police officer had a sexual relationship with a vulnerable teenage girl while colleagues were investigating her disappearance, a misconduct panel has found.

PC Andrew Brooks, who left the Metropolitan Police in June 2019, was accused of gross misconduct over his relationship with a 17-year-old girl, who was also a missing person.

The panel heard how the former police officer met the girl in his local town centre on 15 July 2018 and invited her back to his home, where they “both engaged in sexual activity”.

Mr Brooks, who is 30, later learned that the girl was 17, and a missing person and therefore vulnerable, according to the panel.

However, he continued to pursue a relationship with her and tried to put pressure on her to conceal his identity, the hearing was told.

The girl was referred to as “Ms X” in the misconduct hearing, which found Mr Brooks' actions amounted to gross misconduct.

The panel concluded that Mr Brooks would have been dismissed for his behaviour if he was still a serving officer.

It was ruled that he breached police standards through discreditable conduct and a lack of integrity.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in