A police officer from Barking has been found guilty of misconduct in public office after making "wholly inappropriate" contact with two teenage girls.

Pc Adnan Arib, based out of Bethnal Green station, was convicted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court today (February 16).

He denied two charges of misconduct in a public office, having been arrested following an investigation into his conduct by the Met's directorate of professional standards.

The counts relate to his behaviour toward two teenage girls between March and July 2019.

During this period, Arib asked a 15-year-old girl to meet him in a park, and told a 16-year-old girl she was “very pretty” when she attended Bethnal Green station.

In both cases he text the girls asking to meet, subsequently meeting the 15-year-old who reported the incident.

Arib's position throughout was that he was engaging with the youngsters solely for career purposes.

Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court yesterday - Tuesday, February 15 - the 45-year-old told jurors that the purpose of meeting the 15-year-old girl was to talk through “interview techniques” and “careers advice”.

In respect of the 16-year-old girl, jurors heard that officers found a phone - which Arib initially denied ownership of - containing 47 text messages between them.

Prosecutor Jacqueline Carey told Southwark Crown Court: “His [Arib] interactions with them, his conduct towards these two young women was wholly inappropriate and the prosecution say amounts to police misconduct.”

The jury agreed with this assessment, convicting the officer today. He will be sentenced by the same court on March 3.

Met misconduct proceedings for Arib - based on the Central East command unit - will now begin.

The 45-year-old was immediately suspended from duty following arrest, and was subsequently charged following an independent investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Speaking after today's verdict was handed down, Det Ch Supt Marcus Barnett said: “Pc Arib’s actions were wholly inappropriate and I am utterly appalled by his behaviour. Officers like him are not welcome in our Met."

The officer, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, continued: "The trust of the public is fundamental to our core purpose of keeping London safe.

"We only want the best and I hope this demonstrates that we will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect.”