February 2025

A Metropolitan Police special constable who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl twice was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Hassnain Shahzad, 27, had only recently completed his police training when he targeted the schoolgirl while she was shopping with her mother.

Shahzad molested the girl’s bottom as she queued at Tesco Express in Bishopsgate, London, on August 25, 2023.

He then followed her and her mother outside and deliberately touched her again. The teenager’s recollection that he was carrying pineapple chunks helped investigators identify him on CCTV.

Following his conviction at trial, Shahzad was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court.

Alongside the suspended prison term, Judge David Richards ordered him to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity days.

A seven-year sexual harm prevention order restricts his contact with children and requires him to make phones and computers available for police inspection.

Shahzad had joined the force as a special constable in June 2023 — just months before the assaults.

The court also heard that videos found on his phone showed he had followed women in the street and filmed their bottoms.

The girl’s mother said the assaults had shattered her daughter’s trust in adults. Praising the teenager’s courage in reporting him and giving evidence, the judge described her as “very bright and very brave.”