A Metropolitan Police officer Paedophile, Andrew Kirkland, has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old child after infiltrating her bedroom at night.
Andrew Kirkland, 42, stealthily entered his victim’s chamber and removed her bed sheets before committing a sexual act, as presented in Reading Crown Court.
Jurors were informed that traces of his semen were discovered on the child’s pyjamas and sheets after her mother suspected Andrew Kirkland and submitted them to the police.
The jury delivered a unanimous decision on Thursday after a four-day trial, convicting Andrew Kirkland of sexual assault against a minor under the age of 13.
Judge Kirsty Real imposed a four-year prison sentence, and he will be listed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
The court revealed that Andrew Kirkland, a former neighbourhood officer in Ickenham, London, was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police for theft and fraud in 2014.
During the trial, prosecutor Paul Fairley elucidated how Andrew Kirkland came upon a seven-year-old child in Berkshire in March 2021.
He informed the jury that Andrew Kirkland had entered the child’s chamber at night and had engaged in self-gratification over her, under the impression that the young girl was asleep.
The prosecutor added: ‘The next thing that the mother remembers is her daughter at the door saying ‘my bed’s wet’ and saying someone had made it wet but it was not her.
‘She said she thought a man had been taking photos of her on his phone.
‘As you could imagine, her mind was going at 1,000 miles an hour and racing all over the place.’
Mr Fairley told the jury that the girl’s mother immediately took the bedsheets and Andrew Kirkland’s phone to the children’s school, where police were called.
Officers seized the bedding, the girl’s nightie and Andrew Kirkland’s phone and arrested him for questioning.
DNA evidence taken from the samples given to police revealed that there were semen traces on three items, including the victim’s bedsheets and pyjamas, all matching with that of Andrew Kirkland’s.
Sarah Kalageros, a DNA expert, told the court: ‘In my opinion, the scientific findings provide extremely strong support for the view that Andrew Kirkland had entered the victim’s bedroom and ejaculated onto the bed rather than he did not.’
Andrew Kirkland maintained in his defence in court that the semen was on the bedclothes because he had performed a sex act alone earlier and may have had semen on his hands.
Less than three hours after the jury was sent out to consider its verdict, the panel filed back into crown court and convicted him on the charge of sexual assault on a child.
As the verdict was announced, loud sighs of relief could be heard from the public gallery.
Andrew Kirkland’s head fell into his hands after hearing the word ‘guilty.’
The prosecutor then read a statement from the child’s mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
She said the child kept thinking she was seeing Andrew Kirkland and hearing him throughout the day, and that while walking down the road certain noises would make her jump.
Andrew Kirkland was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police in 2014, after having convictions for theft by an employee, taking money from the workplace and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
One of the latter charges related to an incident were he was convicted for using his work phone to contact sex chat lines, the court heard.
Defending the former policeman, Colin McCarraher said: ‘He is an ex-Metropolitan Police officer. When he goes off to serve his sentence, that will not be an easy sentence to serve. He is an ex-copper.’
Sentencing Kirkland, Judge Kirsty Real said: ‘The victim was particularly vulnerable, ostensibly asleep and at a young age.’
She had earlier been told that detectives found internet searches on Andrew Kirkland’s phone for porn websites which included how to get into bed with a sleeping person.
The judge added that, although the pornographic videos found on his phone ‘showed contemplation, there was no significant planning.’
Andrew Kirkland, of Leicester, was sentenced to four year’s imprisonment.
He was also ordered to sign onto the Sex Offender’s Register for the rest of his life and a Sexual Prevention Harm Order application is to be adjusted at a later date.
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