Met Safer Schools officer pleads guilty to child sex offences

A serving Met Police officer who was posted in a school in north London has pleaded guilty to child sex offences.

PC Hussain Chehab, 22, admitted four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and sexual communication with a child.

He appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday and will be sentenced on 17 March.

The Met said no evidence had linked any of Chehab's offending to his role.

Speaking to the Greater London Authority's Police and Crime Committee on Wednesday morning, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the case as "ghastly".

He apologised to the victims and their families, saying: "They shouldn't be facing that at the hands of a police officer."

The Met said the PC joined the force in March 2020 and was attached to the North Area Command Unit, serving as a Safer Schools officer in a secondary school in Enfield between May and August 2021.

The family of a 16-year-old girl raised concerns with police in July 2021, reporting she had recently been in a relationship with Chehab which they believed began when she was 15.

Chehab was arrested in August 2021 and he was placed on restricted duties, including having to work within the confines of a police building in a non public-facing role, and having no contact with schools or children.

A spokesperson for the Met said investigators found a number of indecent images when they seized his digital devices, and he was arrested for further offences and suspended from duty in October 2021.

When police analysed his devices, they also found messages between Chehab and a 14-year-old girl engaging in sexual communication.

The teenager later provided evidence to police that they had entered into a sexual relationship in 2019, when she was 14.

Det Ch Supt Caroline Haines, policing lead for Enfield, said Chehab's offences were "sickening" and he "exploited" the young girls "for his own sexual gratification".

"Once the initial allegations against PC Chehab were made, he was immediately removed from his role while the investigation took place," she said.

Det Ch Supt Haines added the Met had worked closely with the school and local authority to ensure there were no further unreported safeguarding incidents or missed opportunities.

She said the information provided to the Met before Chehab joined the force was reviewed and he also went through further child and vulnerable group supervision vetting before beginning his role as a Safer Schools officer, but "nothing was found that could have indicated his offending".

"This news will of course cause considerable damage and concern not only to the local community, but Londoners as a whole, who place their trust in police officers to go into our schools alongside their children every day and keep them safe," she continued.

"While no evidence has been found linking any of Chehab's offending to his role, we are engaging with our local schools community forums and independent advisory groups to reassure them following the damage his actions will have caused."

During the court hearing, no verdict was recorded in an additional four counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and the judge ordered they be left to lie on file.

The Met said an accelerated misconduct process had been initiated for Chehab and would be held as quickly as possible.

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]