Policeman used grieving family's TV account to download pornography

A POLICE officer has been accused of downloading porn at the home of a family who had lost their son.

PC Avi Maharaj used Graham and Allison Miller's television account to access the material after the death of their 14-year-old son Harry on February 11 last year.

Maharaj used the family's Virgin Media account to make a £25.96 pornography purchase as he waited for the undertaker to take the body.

Prosecutor Rose Edwin said: "The downloads were used from the address Virgin media account.

"The defendant accessed the account without their consent and downloaded pornographic material."

Suspicion was raised after the father of the deceased received the bill for the amount of £25.96, which was the cost of the downloaded material.

"The father of the deceased believed his son had been downloading this material, so he was very distressed," said Edwin. "His last impression of his son was that he was downloading this material but then he subsequently discovered it wasn’t."

Maharaj, of Hayes, admitted one count of fraud by false representation.

Speaking when Maharaj was convicted last month, Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Sal Naseem said: "Pc Maharaj's behaviour was shocking and even more so given he was guarding the property in the absence of the homeowner.

"Not only were his actions deceitful but he caused considerable distress for the family involved who were dealing with the sudden death of a family member.

"I am sorry that the family involved had to deal with this while also coping with the tragic loss of their child."