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

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.