A former Metropolitan Police officer has been convicted of a series of sexual offences against a woman he met through his work as an officer.
Former PC Mark Tyrrell, who was attached to Specialist Operations, was convicted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, 27 October. He was found guilty of one count of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of perverting the course of justice.
He was found not guilty in relation to 13 other charges, including one count of rape. Tyrrell was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday, 16 December.
The former officer had previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and one count of perverting the course of justice at a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 17 October 2024.
Chief Superintendent Sara Leach, Commander within Specialist Operations, said: “Former PC Tyrrell abused his position of trust as a police officer by instigating a romantic relationship with this victim, who he then subjected to years of abuse.”
She added: “I would like to thank her for the immense strength and courage she showed in coming forward and reporting him, as well as giving evidence during this trial. It is down to her bravery that he has now been convicted and faces a significant prison sentence.”
“This kind of conduct is abhorrent but even more so when it is carried out by a serving officer, who had gained the trust of the victim. We remain appalled that someone like this was serving within our organisation and it is right he has been brought to justice,” Chief Superintendent Leach said.
The case began in April 2023, when a woman came forward to report that she had been in a relationship with Tyrrell for a number of years, during which time he raped and sexually assaulted her on several occasions.
An investigation was immediately launched, which quickly revealed that Tyrrell had met the victim while carrying out a welfare check, before consequently contacting her without a proper policing purpose for doing so.
On initial questioning, he claimed that the woman was his landlord, that they had never been in a romantic relationship, and denied all of the claims against him. He was arrested and suspended from duty, and resigned five months later, in September 2023.
The allegations were referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), whose independent investigation led to Tyrrell being charged with multiple offences.
Despite his resignation, an accelerated misconduct hearing was held on 7 December 2023. It found that former PC Tyrrell would have been dismissed had he still been a serving officer, and he was added to the barred list, meaning he will not be eligible to serve in policing again.
Being on the barred list closes the door on any return to policing: a barred former officer cannot be employed by a police force in England and Wales. The misconduct finding stands separately from the criminal case, and it was reached almost three years before the jury’s verdict.
Following Tyrrell’s conviction, the Met said it will now consider preparing a report for the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC) seeking pension forfeiture.
Under the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and current Home Office guidance, pensions can only be forfeited for very specific reasons. It is the responsibility of MOPAC to make pension forfeiture applications to the Home Secretary for consideration, and the Met said it will now consider preparing a report to assist with that process. No pension decision has been made.
The timeline of the case stretches back more than three years: the woman’s report in April 2023, Tyrrell’s suspension and resignation that autumn, the misconduct hearing in December 2023, his guilty pleas in October 2024, the jury’s conviction this week, and sentencing still to come on 16 December.
The Met’s own vetting regime has itself been the subject of a major court battle this year, with the force winning an appeal over whether unproven misconduct allegations can be considered when deciding if an officer is fit to serve. You can read more about that ruling in our report on the Met’s Court of Appeal vetting win.
Tyrrell’s conviction is the latest in a series of court outcomes involving serious offences in London this year, including the Brixton station stabbing case, in which a man was charged after a passenger was attacked on a Victoria line platform.
The Metropolitan Police has published the full details of Tyrrell’s conviction on its newsroom site.
