Met police officer guilty of sexually assaulting woman in the sea after his stag do

Laurence Knight was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court today (Picture: PA)

A Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in the sea off Brighton beach after his stag-do.

Sergeant Laurence Knight, 34, is said to have met the woman, a stranger, in the early hours of July 17, 2021, while in the city centre.

Prosecutors said the pair walked to the beach together, undressed to their underwear, and ended up in the sea, where sexual activity took place.

The woman says she repeatedly told him to ‘stop’ and reminded him he was ‘getting married in two weeks’, jurors heard.

Knight, of Leyton, east London, was charged with rape and sexual assault following the incident and denied both charges.

Knight, 33, had already been suspended from duty in his role for the Met Police(Picture: PA)

Knight appeared in the dock this morning (Picture: PA)

He was found not guilty of rape but convicted of sexual assault by a majority of 10:2 after more than seven hours of jury deliberations.

The Met said he has been suspended from duty.

In his evidence to the jury, Knight claimed the woman first touched his penis.

He says he then touched her vagina for a few seconds, thinking it was consensual before she made the comment about his imminent wedding and they returned to the shore.

He denies he had any intention to penetrate her vagina.

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He met the woman in the city centre before they went to the beach together in the early hours of the morning.