Two former London police officers, already in the midst of a crisis after the revelation of the presence of a serial rapist in its ranks, have been charged in a case of child pornography images, Scotland Yard announced on Thursday January 19.
This new case, in which an officer still on duty was found dead when he was to be charged, breaks out in the wake of the case of David Carrick, a police officer dismissed on Tuesday January 17, who admitted 24 rapes and multiple assaults sex on 12 women.
Voyeurism on children
London police announced on Thursday that a 49-year-old chief inspector, Richard Watkinson, was found dead on January 12 when he was to be charged with several offenses, accused in particular of “
voyeurism
”, of having taken "
indecent photographs
" of a child or "
conspiring
" to "
distribute or display indecent images of children
".
His death is considered unexplained but not suspicious, according to police.
Two former agents in their sixties, who left the police about ten years ago, are also implicated.
Jack Addis was charged with "
conspiracy to distribute or show indecent images of children
", Jeremy Laxton for the same count, but also for the taking of photos of this type and possession
of "extreme pornographic images
".
London police crisis
The offenses with which they are charged span a period between 2018 and 2021. The two men are due to appear in court on February 9.
Interior Minister Suella Braverman has urged police forces to clean up their ranks to drive out "
corrupt officers
".
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London police are going through a deep crisis of confidence after a succession of high-profile cases, less than two years after 33-year-old Londoner Sarah Everard was raped and killed by a police officer in March 2021. That officer, Wayne Couzens, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The police were then accused of having ignored alarming signals about his behavior.
An independent investigation into this murder will also look into the crimes committed by David Carrick.
