London police officer who killed Sarah Everard sentenced for indecent exposure

ByRob Picheta and Jessie Gretener, CNN, CNNWire
Monday, March 6, 2023
UK police clash with crowd at murdered woman's vigil
London's Metropolitan Police force is under heavy pressure to explain its actions during a vigil for a woman whom one of the same force's officers is accused of murdering.

LONDON -- Wayne Couzens, the former London police officer who abducted, raped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard in 2021, has been sentenced to 19 further months in prison for indecent exposure incidents that took place while he was serving in the force, CNN reported.



Couzens was already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of Everard, which sparked outrage towards the Metropolitan Police and began a national debate about violence against women.



He was additionally sentenced on Monday for exposing himself to women on three occasions in the months prior to the murder. Two occurred at a fast-food restaurant -- the latter of which was just days before he murdered Everard -- and another took place while Couzens was on shift with the police.



Couzens appeared via video link from prison during Monday's hearing. The court heard that he stepped into the path of a female cyclist while naked and masturbating, in a woodland area of Kent in November 2020, while he was supposed to be working from home.



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Then, on two dates in February 2021, Couzens displayed his erect penis to staffers at a fast food drive-through, while picking up food in his car.



The second incident took place on February 27; days later, on March 3, Couzens kidnapped Everard in south London.



On Monday, Couzens also pleaded not guilty to a fourth indecent exposure charge from an alleged incident in June 2015. The UK news agency PA Media reported that he will not face trial over the 2015 charge as it was left on file.



The video in the player above is from a previous report.



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