A Metropolitan Police constable has been charged with two counts of sexual assault allegedly committed while he was on duty, in a case that stretches across five years and has left the force facing fresh questions about vetting and accountability.
Pc Islam Abdel-Hady, 43, is accused of assaulting two women in separate incidents — the first in January 2020, the second in February 2025. Both women were known to the officer, the Met confirmed. He has been suspended from duty and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
A pattern spanning years
The charges cover a significant gap in time. The first alleged offence dates back to the early months of the pandemic, when the country was under strict lockdown restrictions. The second is said to have occurred more than five years later, in February of last year. That such a lengthy period elapsed between the two reported incidents will inevitably prompt scrutiny over whether opportunities to intervene were missed.
Abdel-Hady was attached to the Met’s West Area Basic Command Unit, which covers boroughs including Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. The command unit is one of the busiest in the capital, policing some of London’s most high-profile neighbourhoods. The fact that the alleged assaults occurred while he was on duty — and that the victims were known to him — adds a layer of betrayal to the formal charges.
Suspension and court date
The officer was suspended immediately upon being charged, a standard procedure when a serving constable faces serious criminal allegations. The Met said in a brief statement that the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards had been informed and that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had been notified, as is mandatory in cases involving sexual offences by serving officers.
Abdel-Hady is expected to enter a plea when he appears before magistrates on Monday. The hearing will be the first public procedural step in a case that could ultimately proceed to the Crown Court.
Trust under strain
This latest charge arrives at a moment when the Metropolitan Police is already under intense pressure to rebuild public confidence. A succession of high-profile cases — from the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer to the exposure of toxic cultures within specialist units — has left the force’s reputation battered. Each new allegation involving an on-duty officer chips away further at the trust the service says it is trying to restore.
Campaign groups have long argued that vetting processes remain insufficient and that misconduct investigations move too slowly. The five-year gap between the two alleged assaults will fuel those criticisms. If the first incident was known or reported at the time, questions will be asked about why the officer remained in a frontline role. If it was not reported, the case underscores the barriers victims still face when the alleged perpetrator wears a warrant card.
Why it Matters
When a police officer is charged with sexual assault committed on duty, the harm extends far beyond the individual victims — it fractures the social contract that policing depends on. The Met cannot credibly claim to protect women and girls while officers accused of predatory behaviour remain in uniform for years. This case will be watched closely not only for its legal outcome, but for whether it forces the institution to confront the systemic failures that allow such allegations to persist in silence.
