Local officer jailed for sex attacks on teenager

Local officer jailed for sex attacks on teenager

Stripped 16-year-old girl in police van and fondled her breasts.

A police officer who stripped a teenage girl and used her as a "sexual plaything" in the back of his van while on duty has been jailed for two years.

Andrew Packham, 43, of Fields End Road, Cheam, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday after the court heard he fondled the girl's breasts and pulled down her trousers during a stop and search in Hammersmith last year.

Packham, who works as a police constable in west London, had discovered the 16-year-old sleeping alone in her boyfriend's car following his arrest on July 13 last year. He accused the 16-year-old of smoking drugs before carrying out a body search.

She was listening to music when she was approached by Hammersmith-based PC Packham and another officer just after 2am.

She told Snaresbrook Crown Court: "I was smoking rolling tobacco when Packham came over and told me to get out of the car because he could smell drugs."
"He patted me down, then put his hand under my three layers of clothing and touched my breasts quickly over my bra."
"Then he grabbed hold of my trousers and pulled them forward by the waistline and had a quick glance down."

After searching her once, the court then heard how Packham returned later in the evening and demanded to search her again.

Graham Brown, prosecuting, said: "She was told to get into the back of the police van which she did. Then he pulled down the blind and lifted all three layers of her clothing up over her head exposing her bra before taking her trousers and knickers down."

The girl said she had at first thought little of it because she trusted the police, but took a note of his registration number. Packham claimed the girl had exposed herself sexually to him, but the jury found him guilty of two charges of indecent assault. He was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and was disqualified from working with children under 18.

Judge David Pitman said: "You have brought disgrace on the police service by using your power to abuse your victim as a sexual plaything."

Detective Chief Superintendent Carl Bussey, head of the Metropolitan Police's internal investigations unit, said after the case: "It is beyond our comprehension that a serving police officer thinks he can indecently assault a 16-year-old girl twice while on duty, and get away with it. Fortunately, the victim had faith in the police and the court system and we did not let her down."

August 01, 2004