A Scotland Yard detective who sexually harassed Des O’Connor’s daughter should have been sacked, a misconduct panel has ruled.
Former detective chief inspector James Mason was given a final written warning in October 2021 after calling Kristina O’Connor his ‘favourite Camden victim of crime’ and asking her on a date when she was injured during an attempted robbery a decade earlier.
Mason, 47, had committed gross misconduct by ‘deliberately and repeatedly abusing his position for a sexual purpose,’ the panel had found at the time.
But it was decided that dismissing or demoting him would have been ‘disproportionately harsh.’
The same panel reconvened this week and ruled that Mason, who resigned from the force in November 2022, should have been sacked, however.
Delivering the panel’s findings, Christopher McKay said he had caused harm to the force’s reputation.
‘Women and girls should feel confident that they are treated with courtesy and understanding if they attend a police station to make a complaint,’ he said.
In a statement after the decision, Ms O’Connor, 37, who wept as it was handed down at Sutton Police station in south London, called for the police to be abolished.
‘My experience has taught me that the police cannot be trusted with women’s safety,’ the daughter of the late comedian and presenter said.
‘I was abused by a police officer who should have been helping me.
‘Since reporting his behaviour I have seen first-hand how the police were more interested in protecting themselves than helping me find justice, or protecting other women.
‘I have spent many years questioning whether the policing system can be fixed, and have come to the conclusion that if we are serious about women’s safety, it needs replacing entirely.
‘I believe we need to abolish the police and establish an entirely new public service that actually protects and cares for women and communities.’
Ms O’Connor was bruised and suffered a black eye during the attempted robbery in 2011 and was taken to Kentish Town police station after the attack.
While taking her statement Mason, then a detective sergeant ten years her senior, asked if he could take her to dinner that evening.
The next day he emailed the then 24-year-old, asking her out for a drink and remarking that despite her injuries ‘I am sure you still look amazingly hot.’
When she asked him to stop, Mr Mason wrote: ‘Coming on to victims is positively encouraged, it’s all part of the friendly and accessible face of the Met Police. It’s the rejection that is frowned upon.’
Ms O’Connor had previously been unsuccessful in a 2023 High Court legal challenge against the panel’s original decision, but the Court of Appeal ruled in January that it should be reconsidered.
Her lawyer, Nancy Collins, of Bindmans Law, said the decision reflects the severity of the harassment her client suffered from an officer in whom she had placed her trust.
‘It cannot be right that police officers who abuse their positions of power, undermine public confidence in policing and cause harm to victims of crime, are allowed to continue in their role,’ she added.
‘Anything less than dismissal would signal that sexual misconduct is acceptable and discourage victims from speaking out.’
Mason will be placed on the police Barred list.
Detective superintendent Neil Smithson, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘The Commissioner has made it very clear that officers who abuse their position of trust and authority have no place in the Met.
‘We continue our ongoing drive to improve our standards and culture.’
