The TV personality Jackie Adedeji spoke exclusively about the “traumatising” investigation into a police officer she accused of initiating sexual acts on duty. The same officer had also been found guilty of gross misconduct in 2024 for attempting to initiate a romantic relationship with a teenager he had been deployed to assist.
The broadcaster, who has presented and appeared on shows across ITV, MTV, BBC Three and Channel 4, is one of two women so far to make historic allegations of sexual misconduct against the former Metropolitan and City of London police officer who is over 15 years her senior.
In 2016, the officer met Jackie Adedeji on duty outside a pub in an area of East London he was sworn to serve. The officer approached Jackie when she was lost, before initiating a romantic relationship, which Jackie alleges included sexual acts in the area the officer policed while he was on duty. However, while the relationship continued for years, it recently emerged that the officer had used a false identity throughout the relationship, and also had a family. He worked for the Metropolitan Police before transferring force to the City of London Police.
However, since coming forward, City of London Police, the force investigating Jackie Adedeji’s allegations, are facing severe questions from London’s Victims’ Commissioner over their handling of the criminal investigation amidst concerns that the complaints system is failing those who come forward.
Jackie subject to inappropriate comments by the investigating officer
After Jackie complained about the officer’s conduct, she was subject to inappropriate and flirtatious comments by the investigating detective constable. After having potential access to evidence that included nude photographs of the presenter, Jackie told Channel 4 News that the detective constable investigating her initial allegation called her “photogenic”. Jackie said his comments made her uncomfortable as the police , suggested that the officer under criminal investigation had “great taste, as he met you”, and suggested that “another force should be dealing with this, but then we wouldn’t have met you, would we?”
“I meet him in person, and he’s checking me out. He’s telling me I’m photogenetic. In my video recorded interview, I was crying in that interview,” said Adedeji.
A different investigating officer had stood trial for rape
Jackie’s confidence in the complaints system was further dented when it emerged that the professional standards officer deployed to investigate her new complaint had previously stood trial for rape. The officer was acquitted but Jackie’s confidence in the investigation has been shaken.
“When I found out that he stood trial for rape, I couldn’t email my full account of my experience with my officer in charge, because he’s experienced his own allegations, and it made me feel really uncomfortable,” she said.
The Victims’ Commissioner condemned the decision by City of London Police to allocate the officer to Jackie’s case.
“It’s really important that those actually looking into the behaviour have not been accused themselves and have not been subject to allegations.” – Claire Waxman, Victims’ Commissioner for London.
Jackie met the first officer who she said deceived her using a false identity in 2016, and he was first arrested in February 2024 for the crime of misconduct in a public office following Jackie’s allegations. However, more than 16 months later, no charging decision has been made.
Furthermore, the decision by City of London Police to arrest the officer in February 2024 without charging means proceedings are active. Therefore, media outlets cannot report all the details or name the officer without breaching contempt laws. A failure to charge or release the officer with no further action has prevented the full case being broadcast.
Misled by City of London Police
In 2024, Jackie Adedeji was told by City of London Police that the case file had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision, but it was later revealed the file had never been sent. In response City of London Police said “we can confirm that the case was sent to the CPS for advice in August 2024, it was not filed with the CPS for a charging decision. As shared, the criminal investigation remains live and the integrity of that investigation remains the priority.”
However, according to Claire Waxman, the Victims’ Commissioner for London, complainants being misled about the status of their cases has been a common theme across her casework. The commissioner has now written to Peter O’Doherty, City of London Police Commissioner, to raise concerns about the investigation into Jackie’s allegations.
City of London Police did not respond directly to all of our questions on the outcome of the officers under both criminal and professional investigation. However, they said:
“Last year, a criminal investigation began following the arrest of an officer for misconduct in a public office. A separate complaint against the same officer was also investigated under Police Conduct Regulations, resulting in him being found guilty of gross misconduct. He is no longer a serving officer.
“We cannot disclose details of the criminal investigation that may prejudice the case but accept the victim’s complaints and fully recognise the importance of trust and confidence in how our investigations are carried out. We referred all of the victim’s concerns to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for consideration, and after receiving their advice it should continue to be investigated locally, we have listened to the concerns raised and passed the complaint to a separate force (British Transport Police) for independent review.”
Fired for misconduct
The first officer, who Jackie reported to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in 2023, was also granted anonymity by the City of London misconduct panel. But in 2024, the panel of independent members heard the complaint of a woman who came forward in 2023 about an incident involving the officer in 2010, when she was a teenager.
The hearing heard that the officer had initiated a relationship with the woman when she was 17-years-old. The teenager had been a victim of a crime at a party that the officer had been deployed to assist. The hearing heard that the officer had taken pictures with the teenager before driving her home. The officer, then in his 30s, used confidential information to locate her on Facebook where he sent the teenager an unsolicited friend request and messages.
After the teenager thanked him for the lift home, he responded:
“…I hadn’t forgotten that, you still OWE me a drink for that missy!!”
The misconduct panel ruled that this “was a serious breach of the Professional Standard” and “a type of coercion”, but the officer resigned before the panel’s decision to dismiss him as a member of the police service.
At the hearing, a representative acting on behalf of the officer apologised for their conduct, but denied that he was attempting to establish a romantic relationship.
When the officer had met Jackie in 2016, he was part of a Metropolitan Police Team designated to keep young women safe.
Following a raft of recent convictions for former officers who used their position to make sexual contact with women whilst on duty, Jackie is concerned about how widespread this behaviour is in the force.
“They’re there to protect women like me from sexual predators, but they’re partaking in the behaviour themselves. They’re using it to get dates, get sex.”
After Jackie described the complaints system as “traumatising” the Policing Minister Diana Johnson told Channel 4 News:
“I can fully understand why Jackie feels like that. And there is a huge job of work for the police to do to restore that public confidence, particularly in women and girls.”
I can’t comment on the individual case but it concerns me greatly that we have this culture in policing.
“There is a huge job of work for the police to do to restore that public confidence, particularly in women and girls […] And we know from some of the appalling cases that have happened in policing in recent years, trust and confidence in women and girls has reduced down and that has to be put right by the police. And I know there’s a lot of work”, she continued.
A Met spokesperson said: “While the vast majority of our officers work every day with professionalism and integrity to keep London safe, it is right they are asked to uphold the highest of standards and are held to account when they fail to do so.
“The Government’s new vetting regulations close a gap in the law and allow us to ensure only officers who maintain a suitable standard of clearance throughout their career can police the streets of London. This is fundamental to public trust and confidence and in the last 18 months around 100 officers have been sacked or resigned after having their vetting removed.”