Des O’Connor’s daughter wins right to take Met Police to court for failing to sanction ‘predatory’ officer who said she was ‘amazingly hot’ after she reported being mugged
Des O’Connor’s daughter has been granted permission by the courts to pursue legal action against the Disgraced Met-beampte tronk toe gestuur vir seksuele aanranding van meisie for failing to sanction a detective who sexually harassed her.
The High Courts have ruled that Kristina O’Connor can go forward with her judicial review of the Met’s actions after the detective told her she was ‘amazingly hot’ while investigating her mugging.
Miss O’Connor, nou 33, called police when a group of men attacked her and attempted to steal her mobile phone near her Londen home in 2011.
She was interviewed by Detective Chief Inspector James Mason, 43, who was a DS at the time and is now an aide to Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick moet gaan.
Miss O’Connor, the daughter of late entertainer Des O’Connor, said the officer asked her ‘invasive’ questions with ‘sexual overtones’ and later followed these up with inappropriate messages, calling her ‘amazingly hot’ and asking her out for a drink.
He later sent her ‘grossly inappropriate’ emails in which he renewed his unwelcome advances and stated that rejecting him would be ‘frowned upon’.
Kristina O’Connor, 33, is pursuing a legal claim against the Met Police over its handling of DCI James Mason’s misconduct investigation after the officer kept his job
Miss O’Connor, who was mugged in London in 2011 is the daughter of late entertainer Des O’Connor (saam afgebeeld), wat gesterf het in 2020; and she is also a musician in her own right
In a misconduct hearing on October 5 laas jaar, DCI Mason was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour on eight counts.
Ten spyte van hierdie, he was allowed to keep his rank and was given a final written warning to last three years.
He will remain on the force despite the allegations being proven against him.
Miss O’Connor, supported by the Good Law Project, then launched a Judicial Review against the Met for ‘enabling and normalising’ vrouehaat, met haar finale opdrag by die BBC wat volgende maand die plaaslike verkiesingsdekking sal wees.
The Good Law Project has now confirmed that the High Court has granted Miss O’Connor permission to move forward with the legal action, a move they say shows the complaint is an arguable case.
In a misconduct hearing on October 5 laas jaar, DCI James Mason (op die foto) was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour on eight counts but kept his job and rank
Miss O’Connor said: ‘I welcome this decision from the High Court, not only as a step towards justice being served in my case, but also as a step towards institutional changes, so that justice can be served in all future cases.
‘Being given permission to proceed gives me hope that women’s voices are beginning to be heard at the highest levels and within these institutions of power.
‘An official body has recognised the Met Police’s poor practice in my case.
‘I still believe that this poor practice is institutional and that it is important that the police are held to this level of scrutiny consistently, and that this case is not just a one-off.’
The Police Misconduct Panel found DCI Mason guilty of eight counts of gross misconduct, but he was allowed to keep his job and rank, and walked away with nothing more than a written warning.
DCI James Mason has been described as an aide to Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, who was under fire to improve professional standards and vetting procedures in the force
According to a Freedom of Information request by the Byline Times in September verlede jaar, more than half of the Met’s police officers who were found guilty of sexual misconduct in the last four years kept their job.
The data showed a total of 43 officers out of 83 of 52 per cent of officers found guilty of sexual misconduct between 2017 en 2020 kept their jobs.
Nancy Collins, Kristina’s solicitor, gesê: ‘I am pleased that Kristina’s claim, which concerns police-perpetuated harassment of women and the police disciplinary process addressing such conduct, will be considered further by the High Court.
‘There is a culture of misogyny that has deep roots in the Met; we have seen various cases over recent months of unacceptable treatment of women by Met police officers, and it is the courageous actions of brave women like Kristina that continue to draw wider attention to these pervasive failings by the Met, which must be addressed and resolved with pressing urgency.’
