19 January 2023 , 15:59
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Two retired Metropolitan Police officers have been charged with child sex offences.
The two former coppers were charged as a part of an investigation into a serving Met chief inspector who was found dead the day he was due to face child porn charges.
Jack Addis and Jeremy Laxton were both charged and now face appearing in court next month.
It comes after the police force’s reputation has taken yet another hit as David Carrick, then a serving Met officer, was recently revealed to be one of the UK’s worst rapists.
PC Carrick pleaded guilty to dozens of sex attacks on 12 women, spanning nearly two decades, and is now facing years behind bars.
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Serving Met police officer David Carrick eventually pleaded guilty to 49 offences including 24 counts of rape (PA)
Serial rapist CarrickFollowing the latest charges against the retired officers, the Met said they came about following a "lengthy and complex" investigation into Richard Watkinson, 49, who was a serving Met Chief Inspector for neighbourhoods policing at the West Area Command Unit.
He was found dead in Buckinghamshire on Thursday 12 January, the same day he was due to answer bail to be charged with conspiracy to distribute or show indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent photos of a child, voyeurism, and two counts of misconduct in public office.
Alongside him, two retired Met officers, Addis, 63, of no fixed address but from Perthshire, Scotland, and Laxton, 62, from Lincolnshire were also charged.
They are now due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 9 February.
The two retired officers are now due to appear in court for the child sex offence charges (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Scotland Yard said both men are retired officers who left the force more than a decade ago.
Addis is charged with conspiracy to distribute or show indecent images of children.
Laxton is charged with the same offence, and three counts of making indecent photos of a child, possession of prohibited images of a child, possession of extreme pornographic images, and intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence of misconduct in public office.
The alleged offences took place between January 2018 and September 20, 2021.
The sickening revelations about Carrick are just the latest in a line of scandals to emerge from the rank and file of the Met police (SWNS)Laxton was arrested in September 2021 with Addis arrested two months later in November 2021, as part of the multi-force investigation.
Met officers initially responded to reports from an address in Buckinghamshire on the afternoon of Thursday, 12 January, where they found Watkinson dead.
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Thames Valley Police took over the case and are treating the death as unexplained but not suspicious, after Watkinson was initially arrested in July 2021.
Commander Jon Savell, Professionalism, said: “Chief Inspector Watkinson was facing extremely serious and concerning charges, as the result of a painstaking and thorough police investigation.
A hotline set up by the Met police in light of Carrick's crimes reportedly received over 700 calls in a day (REX/Shutterstock)“Before this matter came to light, we had no previous information about these allegations or to indicate the officer posed any risk to the public.
“He had not faced any other criminal or conduct matters during his Met career. He had been suspended from duty since his arrest.
“Two other men were also arrested during the course of the investigation and have been charged, their matters will now progress through the courts.”