Police Officer Arraigned For R3ping Woman On Beach

A serving Metropolitan Police officer appeared in court today accused of raping a woman on Brighton beach.

Sergeant Laurence Knight, 33, is said to have met the woman, a stranger, in the early hours of July 17 last year while on a stag do in the city center.

Prosecutors say the pair walked to the beach together, undressed to their underwear and ended up in the sea, where s3xual activity is said to have taken place.

Knight, attached to Met Detention, the force’s custody command, was arrested on July 28 last year and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Wearing a dark blue suit, pale shirt and yellow tie, he spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address in Waltham Forest, east London.

He was not asked to enter pleas to charges of r3pe and s3xual assault.

District Judge Nina Tempia granted Knight bail on the condition he does not contact any prosecution witnesses.

Knight, who the Met said has been suspended, will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on August 2.