By Tony O’Reilly-
A serving Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) constable who pleaded guilty to multiple child sex offences, some of which were committed while working as a Safer Schools officer, has been dismissed without notice following a gross misconduct hearing.
PC Hussain Chehab admitted sexual activity with a girl between the aged 13 to 15 before joining the MPS, but also offences linked to indecent images of children that he committed while in the force.
The 22-year-old pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on January 24 to four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child. and is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday, March 17.
No verdict was recorded in a further four counts of making indecent photographs of a child and the judge ordered they be left to lie on file.
An accelerated misconduct hearing on Thursday (March 9), chaired by Assistant Commissioner Barbara Grey, concluded that PC Chehab, who was attached to North Area Command Unit, had breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to ‘discreditable conduct’.
Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, lead for policing in Enfield where PC Chehab served, said: “Following his criminal conviction it is right that PC Chehab is formally dismissed from the Met.
“PC Chehab committed the vilest of offences and abused his position of trust in the most despicable of ways. It continues to be incredibly confronting to see officers convicted and dismissed for such behaviour, however we are committed to rooting out officers who do not belong in our ranks and it is abundantly clear that PC Chehab has no place in the Met.
“Some of the offences relating to the making of indecent photographs 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.
“As soon as the initial allegations were made against him, PC Chehab 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.”
Det Chief Supt Haines added: “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.
“Likewise, prior to starting his role as a Safer Schools officer he was also subject to further Child and Vulnerable Group Supervision vetting, in line with the current vetting standards for all those who work with children and young people.
“While no evidence has been found linking any of Chehab’s offending to his role, we are continuing to work with our local schools, community forums and independent advisory groups to reassure them following the damage his actions will have caused.”
The MPS said the four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 took place between March 1 2019 and September 2019 and “pre-dated his service in the Met”.
His 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, and a number of digital devices were seized.
He was placed on restricted duties, which ordered him to work within the confines of a police building in a non-public facing role and to have no contact with schools or children.
“When his devices were examined, a number of indecent images were found and he was further arrested on October 28, when he was also suspended from duty,” the MPS said.
“Analysis of further devices also revealed messages between PC Chehab and a 14-year-old girl engaging in sexual communication. She later 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.”
PC Chehab will now be added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing.
In a separate case, a police constable was proven to have committed misconduct for is sexual gratification.
Police Constable Christopher Grant, who resigned from the force in February, had met the woman after she made an allegation of sexual assault against her partner in July 2022.
Grant, who was appointed to conduct the investigation, exchanged more than 2,000 messages with the woman on his personal mobile number over a three-month period, some of a sexual nature. He also followed her on TikToK.
Chief Constable Catherine Roper said PC Grant had “abused his position for his own sexual gratification” and his actions “go against everything we stand for as a police service”.
An accelerated misconduct hearing carried out by the force, following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), found gross misconduct proven and PC Grant would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned.
Wiltshire Police alleged the former officer had started “a sexual and improper emotional relationship with the woman which would be regarded as an abuse of position for a sexual purpose”.
The former PC will also be placed on the police barred list.
Ms Roper said: “Firstly, I wanted to apologise, on behalf of the organisation, to the victim in this case. She came to us to report a serious offence and the officer entrusted to support her, abused his position for his own sexual gratification.
“I want to be clear – the actions of Christopher Grant go against everything we stand for as a police service. There is no room in Wiltshire Police for any officer, member of staff or volunteer who betray the trust our communities place in us at their time of need.
“I want to be unequivocal in my position on this as the new chief constable of Wiltshire Police – I will not tolerate any behaviour which falls below the standard I, and our communities, expect.”
The IOPC investigation began in September 2022 following a referral from Wiltshire Police about the conduct of the officer.
It said: “Our investigation assessed data from PC Grant’s personal mobile phone, where the many messages were found, which did not serve a legitimate policing purpose, were flirtatious and represented an effort by PC Grant to establish and maintain a relationship with the woman that was entirely unprofessional.
“At the end of the investigation in January 2023, we found that PC Grant had a case to answer for gross misconduct following inappropriate contact with a vulnerable female.”
Derrick Campbell, regional director for the IOPC said: “Police officers are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times and are rightly held to certain standards when it comes to their interactions with members of the public.
“The abuse of police powers for sexual purposes has a devastating impact on victims and is particularly serious where the subject of the officer’s behaviour is a vulnerable person.
“Our independent investigation concluded that the officer in this case abused his position by actively pursuing an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable female member of the public.
“Following an accelerated gross misconduct hearing, it was determined the force would have dismissed the officer without notice, had he still been serving, highlighting that behaviour of this type will not be tolerated in policing.”
Wiltshire police and crime commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “Former PC Christopher Grant’s exploitation and grooming of a vulnerable woman is simply shameful. My thoughts are with the victim in this case who had the courage to speak up and challenge his behaviour.
“Wiltshire Police acted swiftly to suspend former PC Grant earlier this year and he would have been dismissed immediately had he not resigned.
“Chief Constable Roper has my full support in rooting out those in Wiltshire Police who seek to abuse their position of trust. It will not be tolerated.”
The Met police force told The Eye Of Media.Com that it will not release his photograph of PC Hussain Chehab to the public until he is sentenced, and even then will decide whether it is safe and reasonable to do so.