Ex-UK police officer appears in court charged with multiple sex offences

By Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) - A former British police officer appeared in a London court on Wednesday charged with 17 sexual offences including two counts of rape, which were allegedly committed against a woman he met while on duty.

Mark Tyrrell, 55, was also charged with three counts of perverting the course of justice relating to allegations he deleted messages, lied to police and pressured his alleged victim to provide a false account.

Tyrrell, who was an officer with London's Metropolitan Police, is also charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly engaging in an inappropriate relationship with the woman, who he met during the course of his police duties.

Tyrrell was an officer in the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, which guards diplomatic premises.

Wayne Couzens, a former officer in the unit, was jailed for life without parole in 2021 for raping and murdering a woman in a case that shocked Britain.

Another former member of the unit, David Carrick, was last year jailed for a minimum of 32 years for multiple rapes and sexual offences committed over nearly two decades.

Tyrrell appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where prosecutor Rhianne Neil said he had met the complainant "through his work with the Metropolitan Police Service ... through repeat welfare checks".

"The complainant made contact to the defendant's work email and the defendant responded through his personal mobile phone," Neil said.

The Met said that Tyrrell was arrested in April 2023 and subsequently suspended, before he retired last September. The charges span 2017 to 2023.

Tyrrell was not asked to enter any pleas to any of the charges and will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on Oct. 2.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Alison Williams)