Former Met officer sentenced following a swift investigation

An officer has been dismissed from the Met and sentenced for sharing messages about sexually abusing children less than a month after being arrested.

PC Duncan Bouette, attached to the North East Command Unit and dismissed from the Met earlier this week, was arrested by the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Unit on Tuesday, 7 October.

On Wednesday, 8 October, he was charged with two counts under the Obscene Publications Act.

PC Bouette appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 9 October where he pleaded guilty to both charges.

On Thursday, 6 November at the same court, he was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence alongside 200 hours of community work. He was also handed a three-year criminal behaviour order with conditions prohibiting unsupervised contact with children and relating to the use of digital devices.

Superintendent Lynne Forster, who leads policing in North East London said: “PC Bouette’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and specialist officers moved swiftly following information received.

“PC Bouette’s guilty plea meant an accelerated misconduct hearing was organised and he was dismissed on Tuesday, 4 November. From his arrest to dismissal and sentencing has taken less than a month, showing our determination to tackle offending by our officers.

PC Bouette will also be added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing, meaning that he will not allowed to serve as a police officer again”.

The court heard how PC Bouette sent a series of messages that related to the sexual abuse of children on Monday, 18 November 2024.

They also heard that between Thursday, 2 and Friday, 3 October, he sent messages via a secure messaging application that related to extreme, violent sexual practices. Information was received on Tuesday, 7 October, leading to his arrest.