Met policeman sacked for theft and fraud now jailed for sexually assaulting seven-year-old girl

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A disgraced Metropolitan Police officer kicked off the force for theft and fraud has now been jailed for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl in her own bed.

Andrew Kirkland performed a sex act over the young girl after sneaking into her room in March 2021.

The 42-year-old believed the youngster was asleep but his actions were exposed when the girl told her mother she thought a man had been taking photos of her on his phone, a court heard.

Investigators later found DNA evidence on the victim’s bedding and nightie which matched that of Kirkland’s.

The former neighbourhood officer, who was based in Ickenham, London, denied the charge of sexual assault on a girl under the age of 13 years.

But he was jailed for four years at Reading Crown Court after a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict at the end of a four-day trial.

Loud sighs of relief could be heard from the public gallery as the verdict was announced.

Kirkland’s head fell into his hands after hearing the word “guilty”.

In a victim impact statement, the child’s mother said the youngster keeps thinking she has seen or heard Kirkland and still jumps at certain noises.

The court heard Kirkland had been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police in 2014 after he was convicted for theft by an employee, taking money from the workplace and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.

open image in gallery

One of the latter charges related to an incident in which he was convicted for using his work phone to contact sex chat lines, the court heard.

Defending the former policeman, Colin McCarraher said: “He is an ex-Metropolitan Police officer.

“When he goes off to serve his sentence, that will not be an easy sentence to serve. He is an ex-copper.”

But sentencing Kirkland, Judge Kirsty Real said: “The victim was particularly vulnerable, ostensibly asleep and at a young age.”

She had earlier been told detectives found internet searches on Kirkland’s phone for porn websites which included how to get into bed with a sleeping person.

Kirkland, now of Stoney Stanton, Leicester, was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for the rest of his life.

Additional reporting by agencies