Married cop jailed for seeking sexual relationships with ‘vulnerable’ teens

Pc Adnan Arib, who worked for east area command covering Hackney and Tower Hamlets and was based out of Bethnal Green station, was jailed at Southwark Crown Court today (March 3).

The married 45-year-old officer, of Barking, got the mobile phone numbers of both girls, aged 15 and 16, asked whether they had boyfriends, and invited them out for drinks.

The younger girl said she felt his “intentions were of a sexual nature” when Arib, who had first been called to her home by her mother, met her in a park after school.

The 16-year-old said she began feeling “uncomfortable and a bit weird” when the officer told her she was “very pretty” and invited her out while in Bethnal Green police station, east London, at around 5am.

Metropolitan Police officer Pc Adnan Arib, 45, arrives at Southark Crown Court, south London (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Arib then sent her dozens of text messages, including late at night, for around two months, asking her to meet him.

The Pc, who has been suspended by the Met, claimed he wanted to offer the girls “career advice”, but on February 16 he was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in a public office between April and July 2019 by a jury at Southwark Crown Court after a trial.

Today, he was jailed for two years, of which he will serve half.

Judge Deborah Taylor said: “What is clear from the evidence in this case is that there was a sexual undertone to your behaviour.

“Once the jury had rejected your explanation, the only inference is you were trying to gain their trust to pursue some sort of sexual relationship.”

Highlighting the “gross disparity in age” between Arib and the girls, she told him: “You were a police officer and you used your position as an officer to obtain the mobile phone numbers of two young women, who were then aged 15 and 16 respectively.

“They were both vulnerable, and in your treatment of them you abused the public’s trust in you as a police officer.”

The judge added: “I take into account that the important aspect of sentence in this case is punishment and deterrence, because not only must police officers be deterred from misconduct but the public must see that very serious punishment will be visited on those who betray the trust given to them and don’t live up to the high standards required by any police force.”

Arib first came into contact with the 16-year-old after she was picked up by police, having been reported missing on April 1 2019.

While in the station, Arib asked for her phone number and if she was in a relationship, told her she was “very pretty” and that he wanted to take her out.

He accessed a police report about her and officers later found 47 text messages had been sent between Arib and the teenager on a phone he had initially tried to deny was his.

Arib was called to the 15-year-old girl’s flat by her mother, who had accused her of stealing £10 in July 2019.

He told her to deny the suspected theft, got her phone number, then later asked if she had a boyfriend and suggested taking her out for a drink when they met in a park.

In a victim impact statement, she said: “I felt uncomfortable because I know his intentions were not pure.

“I felt his intentions were of a sexual nature and that he had other people waiting for us.”

Her mother added: “I feel guilty because I called the police for only £10 and then this situation happened."

Patrick Hill, defending Arib, said: “The loss of his career and reputation are inevitable.

“The disciplinary proceedings will no doubt be fast-tracked in light of the jury’s verdicts.”

Following the hearing, Det Ch Supt Marcus Barnett, who is in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “Officers like Pc Arib are not welcome in our Met and the sentence handed to him today reflects the seriousness of his actions.

"Now that the criminal case has concluded we will move to misconduct proceedings as soon as possible."