Met Police officer who filmed woman changing in Primark and made indecent images of child walks free

A Met Police officer who was caught secretly filming a woman in a Primark changing room, before being found with indecent images of children, has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Former PC Swaleh Chaudhry, 36, was seen filming a woman as she was getting changed in the clothes shop in Southside Shopping Centre, in Wandsworth, south west London.

The woman looked down after hearing a “rustling” and found the device pointing up at her from the next cubicle, a court previously heard.

Police were called to the shop just before 5pm on Wednesday 30 March and Chaudhry, who was off-duty, was arrested at the scene and suspended from duty.

During the course of the investigation, electronic devices belonging to Chaudhry, who was attached to the Met’s Taskforce, were seized and forensically examined.

He was found to be in possession of extreme pornography and indecent images of a child.

Chaudhry pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, one count of possession of extreme pornography, and three counts of making an indecent image of a child.

On Friday he was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and given a sexual harm prevention order.

He has since resigned from the Met, the force confirmed.

A misconduct hearing held on 31 May found him guilty of gross misconduct and the panel ruled that he would have been dismissed without notice had he not resigned.

Commander Kyle Gordon, who leads the Met’s Taskforce, said: “Former Constable Chaudhry’s behaviour was repugnant. His actions go against everything we stand for.

"Holding the office of constable is a privilege and it comes with great responsibility. He showed himself to be totally unsuitable to hold this office and undeserving of the trust of the public, and it is right that he has resigned.

"He was investigated, charged and put before the courts by Metropolitan Police officers within 48 hours of the incident.

"I hope that this swift action demonstrates our absolute determination to root out those people in our organisation who let down the public and also let down the many thousands of hard working and dedicated officers with whom they serve."

The Met Police force was recently put into special measures following a series of scandals, including the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens.

Former Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick resigned earlier this year amid mounting criticism of her handling of problems within the ranks.

She also faced criticism from London Mayor Sadiq Khan over her handling of racist, misogynist and homophobic messages shared by a group of officers based at Charing Cross police station 

She has been replaced in the top job by Sir Mark Rowley.

The Met's statement following Chaudhry's sentencing on Friday added that the force would not wait for the findings of ongoing inquiries to begin rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence in its officers.

It said the force had taken 'significant steps' to effect change across the organisation.

This included two independent reviews, an examination of all current investigations of sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Met employees and an increase in the number of investigators in the force's professional standards directorate.

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