Metropolitan Police Sergeant charged after Brighton 2021 attack

A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been accused of raping a woman on a beach in Brighton, East Sussex.

The Police Officer is a Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police's Detention Unit

Sussex Police said Laurence Knight, who is thirty-three and attached to the Detention Unit, has been charged over the allegation, made on 17th July 2021.

Laurence Knight, who the Metropolitan Police said was not on duty at the time, was arrested on 28th July 2021 and has been on bail since.

He has been summoned to appear before Brighton Magistrates Court on 23rd June and has been suspended from duty.

Chief Superintendent Pete Gardner, in charge of Metropolitan Police Detention, said: "We know people will rightly be concerned to hear about this profoundly serious charge against a serving Police Officer.

"We share that concern, and I am thankful to Sussex Police for their thorough investigation and the continued specialist support they are providing to the victim.

"The Metropolitan Police's Directorate of Professional Standards Department are fully aware and misconduct matters will be dealt with once the criminal proceedings have concluded."

Scotland Yard made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which decided the misconduct investigation should be led by the Metropolitan Police.