A police officer serving with London's Metropolitan Police Service has admitted to buying pornography at the home of a grieving family, CNN reports. The family had been coping with the death of their child, and 44-year-old PC Avi Maharaj bought access to porn channels while he was at their home waiting for the undertaker to arrive.
Maharaj admitted to using the homeowner's cable TV account to buy the porn, spending £25.96 (roughly $32) on the channels. He was investigated after the grieving family filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police Service. He was the only person at the property at the time of the purchases, and to cover his actions he falsified his attendance log.
"PC Maharaj's behaviour was shocking and even more so given he was guarding the property in the absence of the homeowner," the Independent Police Complaints Commission's regional director Sal Naseem said in a statement. "Not only were his actions deceitful but he caused considerable distress for the family involved who were dealing with the sudden death of a family member." Haharaj will be sentenced for fraud in August and will also face charges of gross misconduct.
"Our investigation showed that PC Maharaj was the only person in the property who could have downloaded access to pornographic channels at the time the account was accessed," Naseem continued. "Today he has admitted his guilt under the weight of compelling evidence. I am sorry that the family involved had to deal with this while also coping with the tragic loss of their child."
