"Today he has admitted his guilt under the weight of compelling evidence"
Scotland Yard police officer, Avi Maharaj, aged 44, has pleaded guilty to one count of fraud at Westminster Magistrates Court, after buying porn using a homeowner’s TV account while on duty after a child’s death.
PC Maharaj was at the house in south London of a family who had lost their child in February 2018. He was waiting for the undertaker to attend while the homeowner was not at the property when he made the purchase of pornography on their TV without permission.
After a complaint regarding the conduct of PC Maharaj was received from a member of the public, the matter was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in September 2019.
During the IOPC investigation, PC Maharaj denied making the purchase.
However, evidence indicated that PC Maharaj was the only person who was present at the house when a charge of £25.96 was levied against the householder’s account for the purchase of porn.
In addition, the IOPC investigation revealed that PC Maharaj may have changed details on his attendance log to cover his tracks of the porn purchase.
PC Maharaj, from Earlsfield in the London borough of Wandsworth, was charged with fraud related to misuse of the TV account when he appeared in court on Tuesday, July 17, 2019.
Regional director of the IOPC, Sal Naseem said:
“PC Maharaj’s behaviour was shocking and even more so given he was guarding the property in the absence of the homeowner.”
“Not only were his actions deceitful but he caused considerable distress for the family involved who were dealing with the sudden death of a family member.
“Our investigation showed that PC Maharaj was the only person in the property who could have downloaded access to pornographic channels at the time the account was accessed.
“Today he has admitted his guilt under the weight of compelling evidence. I am sorry that the family involved had to deal with this while also coping with the tragic loss of their child.”
A file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after the investigation by the IOPC was concluded in April 2019, eight months after the initial report, according to The Mirror.
In addition to the porn fraud, the IOPC recommended PC Maharaj should attend a gross misconduct hearing, to which the Metropolitan Police Service agreed and will be scheduling.
Loading ...