Metropolitan Police officer who ‘trivialised’ rape allegation sacked

A Metropolitan Police officer who worked at Charing Cross police station has been sacked after he was secretly filmed “trivialising and mocking” a complainant’s allegation of rape.

The undercover footage, which was aired on a BBC Panorama programme, showed Sergeant Clayton Robinson saying, “I’ve got to be honest, I’ve gone to bed before and can’t remember taking my trousers off” after another officer told him about a rape allegation where a woman said she woke up without trousers on and did not remember taking them off, a misconduct hearing was told.

He also sang part of the Oompa Loompa Song from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory after talking about a hypothetical suspect who was “orange with green hair”, the tribunal heard.

Stephen Morley, representing the Metropolitan Police, told the tribunal Sergeant Robinson had “trivialised and mocked the complainant’s allegation”.

By “trivialising a serious sexual offence”, Sergeant Robinson “failed to treat members of the public with respect and undermined the public’s confidence in the police”, Mr Morley told the hearing.

Sergeant Robinson denied that he had breached the force’s standards of professional behaviour, but the chairman of the hearing Commander Andy Brittain ruled that he had committed gross misconduct.

“He alone was responsible for the words he used,” Mr Brittain said as he ruled the allegations against the officer were proved.

“As the custody sergeant, he should have acted as a role model.”

Mr Brittain decided Sergeant Robinson should be dismissed without notice.

Sergeant Robinson had also been recorded speaking about the alleged rape with another sergeant, the tribunal heard.

In the police investigation, two people had been arrested and were in custody, with unedited footage from the BBC showing a discussion about this between Sergeant Robinson and the arresting officer.

Sergeant Robinson told Tuesday’s hearing he had been concerned that the detainees could have been wrongfully arrested, based on their appearances compared with the complainant’s description.

He said he had been questioning the officer in the case “to make sure there are grounds to keep this person in custody”.

After the arresting officer left, covert filming by a BBC reporter recorded Sergeant Robinson saying to another sergeant: “She’s woken up momentarily and there’s someone humping her and then passed out again. And that’s all she’s got”, the hearing was told.

The complainant had reported that there was a number of people around, and Sergeant Robinson said: “She has given some description, hasn’t she?” before adding: “I mean, one of them might be orange with green hair and obviously it’s him.”

The other sergeant said: “Like an Oompa Loompa?” the tribunal heard, to which Sergeant Robinson replied: “Yeah”, laughed and began singing part of the Oompa Loompa Song.

Sergeant Robinson told the chairman he had not been mocking anyone and had been “frustrated” at what he perceived to be wrongdoings in the alleged rape investigation.

“I could just see things were not going the way that I’d expect them to go, I’m getting quite annoyed at things not going as they should,” he told the hearing.

Asked if he made the comments informed by “hostility towards woman”, Sergeant Robinson said: “I’m outraged at the suggestion. I’ve been in this job for 27 plus years and I have a very strong conscience and I’m very proud of my integrity.”

He became visibly upset and added: “I am absolutely disgusted that I am here being accused of this.”

He is the fifth police officer to be sacked following the BBC investigation.

Last week, Pc Jason Sinclair-Birt, Pc Philip Neilson, Pc Martin Borg and Sergeant McIlvenny were dismissed without notice in separate hearings after it was found they had committed gross misconduct.

Hearings for three more officers linked to the BBC programme have been adjourned to a later date, the Metropolitan Police said.