Met officer pleads guilty to distributing indecent images of children
A Metropolitan Police officer is starting a jail term after admitting downloading and distributing indecent images of children.
PC Adam Merriman admitted a string of charges when he appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Friday.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent image of a child, and three counts of distributing indecent images of a child.
The discovery of the indecent images was made on December 28 last year, and Merriman also admitted resisting arrest when he was detained on Thursday.
The officer, attached attached to a team covering Barnet, Brent and Harrow was remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing at Southwark crown court on a date to be confirmed.
Prosecutor Tom Murphy told the hearing Merriman had a “propensity to contact and have communication with females who had children”, and objected to the officer having bail prior to being sentenced.
District Judge Daniel Sternberg remanded Merriman in custody, and told him: “I have substantial grounds to believe you would fail to surrender if granted bail, based on the nature and seriousness of the offences, the likely sentence, and the risk of committing further offences.”
Merriman, wearing prison-issue grey clothes, nodded as he was led away by the dock security guards.
Merriman was put on trial in 2017 over allegations of harassment and assault of a woman - charges which he was cleared of.
The court was told that he had left a sex toy on the bonnet of the woman’s car, but he denied the incident was designed to deliberately cause distress.
After Merriman was cleared by a judge, he was subjected to a misconduct probe but kept his job.
The PC, who lives in Bletchley, has now resigned from the Met as a result of the new charges, and is likely to now face an accelerated misconduct hearing.
Chief Superintendent Sara Leach, in charge of policing for the area, said: "I recognise and share the shock and concern this news will cause among our local community and across London. I will be speaking to our partners and community forums to listen to their views in the coming days.
"Investigating officers worked quickly to charge PC Merriman after his arrest for these incredibly serious offences. Misconduct proceedings will now take place as soon as possible.”