A British Transport Police (BTP) officer has been sentenced for sexually assaulting his colleague at London Bridge Station after a night out.
Serving officer Tristan Davis was sentenced to fifteen months in prison, suspended for two years, and added to the sex offenders register, on Friday, November 18.
This means Davis will not have to serve his fifteen months in prison unless he breaks certain conditions such as breaching an electronic curfew from 7pm to 6am.
Police officer who sexually assaulted colleague at London Bridge station said he was being “playful”
During the internal investigation, Davis claimed his behaviour during the incident was “playful”, despite his victim making numerous attempts to push him away.
He was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault on October 14 and sentenced at Inner London Crown Court last Friday.
Deputy Chief Constable Alistair Sutherland said: “I would like to be completely clear that Tristan Davis does not represent the values of BTP officers.
“Put simply, behaviour like this is not ‘playful’ – it is a serious criminal offence and it will always be treated as such.”
The court heard that on April 23 last year, after a night out, Davis sexually assaulted his victim on an escalator at London Bridge Station and twice more on a train.
Police investigating a sexual assault on train release images of man they want to speak to
His colleague tried to push him away multiple times and was forced to leave her seat and stand in the train aisle to escape Davis.
After the incident, the victim reported the incident to BTP’s Professional Standards Department and Davis was immediately suspended as a criminal investigation took place. In his police interview, Davis told detectives his behaviour was “playful”.
DCC Sutherland said: “In this case, thanks to the victim coming forward and bringing it to our attention, detectives launched a thorough investigation into Davis so we could bring him before the courts to face justice today.
“I am acutely aware of how damaging incidents like this are to public confidence in policing, and I am equally as appalled that a serving officer could ever think to conduct themselves in such a way. I would like to reassure the public that we will always relentlessly challenge and thoroughly investigate any officer who breaks the law or falls short of the exemplary standards we expect.”