PC dismissed after ‘spanking’ girl
A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer has been dismissed after a misconduct panel found he assaulted a child by spanking her bare bottom on numerous occasions.
The hearing, led by an independent chair, examined allegations that between April 2018 and August 2018 PC Ross Benson administered spankings to a girl, while she was aged between 12 and 13 years old, and there was a “sexual element to them”.
The force said the girl was known to him and the spankings happened when he was off-duty.
The disciplinary hearing, which concluded on Friday (September 27), found that PC Benson, who was attached to the North West Basic Command Unit, had breached the standard of professional behaviour relating to discreditable conduct at the level of gross misconduct.
He was dismissed without notice and placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing.
PC Benson was arrested by Bedfordshire Police on November 6, 2020, on suspicion of sexual assault. In September 2021 he was informed no further action would be taken.
However, Bedfordshire Police contacted the MPS’s Directorate of Professional Standards and a misconduct investigation was launched.
Detective Superintendent Will Lexton-Jones, the acting the North West Basic Command Unit Commander, said: “My thoughts are first and foremost with the victim who displayed courage in reporting this. PC Benson’s abhorrent behaviour has led to his immediate dismissal, which is a decision I fully support.
“I hope this outcome demonstrates how we are rooting out those who do not demonstrate the high standards we demand from our officers.”