Epping Forest: Former Metropolitan Police officer jailed

A former Metropolitan Police officer, previously found guilty of sexually assaulting a child, has been jailed.

Officers from our Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAIT), who dedicate their time to the protection of children, began investigating 44-year-old Farhan Ghadiali in 2019.

It followed a report that a child had been assaulted while at a party in Buckhurst Hill.

Ghadiali, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Service, was off-duty at the time of the incident.

After being charged with sexual assault by touching, he first faced trial in May 2022 but was met with a hung jury.

In March 2023, he was re-tried at Chelmsford Crown Court. It took the jury only 2.5 hours to unanimously find him guilty.

Ghadiali, of Fyfield Road, Woodford Green, was placed on restricted duties and subsequently suspended from active duty within the Metropolitan Police Service while criminal proceedings were underway. Following the guilty verdict, a misconduct hearing was able to proceed and he was dismissed from the force on Friday 19 May.

At Chelmsford Crown Court today, Wednesday 24 May, he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment. He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and will be a registered sex offender, both indefinitely.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Barker, of Essex Police’s CAIT team, said:

“It’s heart-breaking to hear about any case of this nature, but it cuts even deeper knowing that Ghadiali should have been someone this child, and the wider community, could look up to and trust.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what job you do, nobody is above the law. Our driving force is getting justice for those who need us and that’s why we didn’t hesitate to seek a re-trial.
“Even though they’d experienced something so shocking, the family still put their faith in us to investigate him and ensure that he couldn’t do this to anyone else.
“I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to repay that trust by proving his guilt and getting the right result.
“No child should have to go through this and no parent should have to watch their child fear the world around them because of the vile actions of someone like Ghadiali.
“He’s right where he belongs, next to other criminals.”