By Grâçia Ada Obi
A Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of perverting the court of justice after sexual assault claims were found to be false.
PC Lauren Evans, with the South Area Basic Command Unit, appeared at Southwark Crown Court, United Kingdom (UK) on Monday, December 1, where she pleaded not guilty to the charge.
PC Evans was charged after an investigation into a false sexual assault allegation that she made on Wednesday, March 22 2023.
She claimed she was pulled over on her way to work at around 1pm on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, by someone identifying as a plain-clothed officer who sexually assaulted her.
The Met launched an urgent investigation to identify the alleged officer, using the surname and description of the unmarked police car provided by PC Evans.
An officer with the same surname who was driving an unmarked police car at the time of the alleged assault was identified.
The following day, on Thursday, March 23, they were arrested.
It later came to light that PC Evans had made a false report, and the individual was exonerated and released without charge.
The investigation found conclusively that the individual was not involved and also found no evidence that any stop had taken place.
PC Evans was arrested on Thursday, April 20 2023 and suspended from duty.
On Monday, December 8, she was found guilty of perverting the court of justice at Southwark Crown Court and will be sentenced at the same court next year on February 9.
After being convicted, PC Evans will face a misconduct hearing after an investigation by the Met’s Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cutler, with the Met’s Anti-Abuse and Corruption Command, said: “Officers should act with integrity at all times and lying about such a serious allegation is completely unacceptable. It undermines the work that takes place across the Met every day to support victims of sexual offences and it will not be tolerated.
“This has been a complex investigation which started following an allegation against another officer. This allegation was investigated thoroughly and we found no evidence that the incident had taken place.”
