TheCable

Supt Williams, Metropolitan police chief, has been convicted of possessing an indecent video of a man sexually assaulting a girl on her phone.

Williams received the unsolicited one-minute video via Whatsapp from Jennifer Hodge, her sister, in May 2018.

Hodge, irked by the content of the video, had sent it to Williams because she wanted the perpetrator caught and brought to justice.

Richard Wright QC, the prosecutor, accused William of seeing a thumbnail of the video but failing to report it in a bid to allegedly protect Hodge, the co-defendant.

According to the law on possession of indecent images, Williams had to prove she had a legitimate reason to have it, or that she had not seen the video and did not have reason to believe it was indecent.

She denied seeing a thumbnail of the video or its full content, saying she would have taken necessary action if she had.

““If I’d seen anything remotely like that, I would have simply, simply – I am on speed dial to my chief inspector – I would have called my lead for safeguarding and asked what was the best possible way to get this evidence into the chain of action, so we could safeguard and best protect this child. Simple phone call, no discussion,” Williams said.

A jury at the Old Bailey agreed Williams never played the video but found her guilty of possession and failing to report the same.

William, who was honoured for her work after the Grenfell fire disaster, is one of the most senior female African-Caribbean police officers.

She has been placed on restricted duties and potentially faces being sacked after 36 years of distinguished service.

Until her suspension, she was the borough commander for Sutton in south London.

Dido Massivi, Hodge’s partner who sent her the video before she forwarded it to 17 other people including Williams, was convicted of distributing two indecent images and possessing extreme pornography.

Matthew Horne, deputy assistant commissioner, said after the verdict: “The prosecution called this a ‘sad case’ and referred to the ‘serious errors of judgment’ made by those involved.

“The court heard that Supt Williams has led a distinguished career in policing and previously been commended for her professionalism.

“The Independent Office for Police Conduct is carrying out an independent misconduct investigation into the actions of Supt Williams and we await the outcome.”

The three defendants will be sentenced on November 26.