PC Avi Maharaj jailed for using grieving family’s TV account to download pornography

A police officer has been jailed for 12 months after he used a cable account belonging to a grieving father while he waited for an undertaker to arrive.

44-year-old Metropolitan Police officer Avi Maharaj downloaded four clips worth £25.96 whilst at a south London home in February last year, after the death of a 14-year-old boy who was found hanged at the address.

Maharaj should have been guarding the property at the time and falsified attendance logs to show that he arrived at the property two hours earlier than he actually did, in an effort to cover his tracks.

Graham Miller, the boy’s father, said in a letter that Maharaj’s actions had initially “upset” his image of his son and it made him feel like he did not know him.

Judge Deborah Taylor, sentencing at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, said: “All right-thinking people would be appalled by your gross lack of decency and respect in indulging yourself at all in those circumstances.”

It was not until Mr Miller phoned Virgin Media that he realised the clips were not downloaded by his son as he presumed, after they told him what time the videos had been accessed.

Data from Virgin Media showed that four adult films, which cost £6.49 each, were downloaded between 11pm and 11.42pm, according to prosecutor Gregor McKinley.

He added that Maharaj claimed he left the property at 11.58pm – but the police vehicle remained parked outside the home until 1.44am.

The court heard that Maharaj initially denied the allegations when interviewed by police.

Mr McKinley said: “He provided officers with a prepared statement in which he denied the allegation and questioned security of the premises.”

Maharaj then pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 July.

In mitigation, Edmund Gritt said Maharaj “expressed his wholly ashamed apologies to the Miller family”.

Mr Gritt added: “He acknowledges his conduct was abject and without any thought to possible consequences.

“There was a press report in Evening Standard that said Mr Miller had forgiven Mr Maharaj.

“He said he feels honoured by that but also disgusted with himself in the face of that forgiveness.”

The court heard Maharaj’s guilty plea will “terminate” his police career “forever” and a special hearing is set to take place on 9 September where Mr Gritt said it would be “inevitable” he is dismissed.

(c) Sky News 2019: PC Avi Maharaj jailed for using grieving family’s TV account to download pornography