Couzens, 48, allegedly molested a drag artist while he was in costume at a pub before propositioning him to have sex
Wayne Couzens, the police officer who has been handed a life sentence Sarah Everard, is reportedly facing a new probe over allegedly sexually assaulting a drag queen.
Couzens, 48, allegedly molested a drag artist while he was in costume at the New Inn pub in Deal, Kent, in 2018, before propositioning him to have sex.
The performer claimed that Couzens told him that he was a police officer when he told the father-of-two to stop touching him, the Mirror reported.
A slew of claims have come to light about the Metropolitan Police officer since he was jailed for his life with no chance of parole after he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard while she was walking home.
Couzens is known to have committed an indecent exposure, driving round naked from the waist down in his car, when he served with them in 2015.
He has also been identified as being responsible for carrying out the same offence at a McDonald’s restaurant days before he targeted Ms Everard, 33, while she walked home from her friend’s house in Clapham, south London.
On March 3, he staged a fake Covid arrest, handcuffed Ms Everard and put her in his car before driving 80 miles to Kent where he raped and murdered her. Days later, he burned her body and left it in woods near land he owned.
Now, a drag queen has reportedly accused Couzens of molesting him while he was standing at a bar in costume.
The unnamed performer is believed to have said that he did not go to the police before seeing the news about Couzens’ jail term, as he did not think his claims would be taken seriously.
But the alleged victim said that he recognised Couzens ‘right away’ after seeing him on the TV and told his partner ‘that’s him’.
The drag artist reportedly said he had gone to the New Inn pub, which is close to Couzen’s Kent house, to watch a band when Couzens inappropriately touched his backside at the bar.
The drag artist reportedly said he had gone to the New Inn pub (pictured), which is close to Couzen’s Kent house, to watch a band when Couzens inappropriately touched his backside
He told Sunday’s People: ‘Then he [Couzens] went round to my groin and I went, ‘Oi, stop that. My partner’s over there.’ He went ‘Do you know who I am?’ and I went, ‘Do you know who I f***ing am?’
He alleged that he told Couzens his stage name, to which he replied that he was a police officer, and the unnamed drag queen told him again not to touch him.
The performer alleged that Couzens then asked him to go around the back of the pub where it was ‘dark’ to give him a ‘b***job’, after which the artist told him to ‘p*** off’ and walked back to his table and told his partner what allegedly happened.
He said he has not told any of his friends about the alleged incident as he is ’embarrassed’, and claimed that he is now too afraid to go to a bar or ‘wander’ off by himself after the alleged assault.
Speaking about recognising Couzens, he said: ‘Can you imagine if I went down that alley? My partner has said to me, ‘You could have been stabbed in the alley and left somewhere else’.’
He reportedly made a formal victim statement on Tuesday naming police officer Couzens as the alleged attacker.
MailOnline has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
The Met has faced a wave of criticism over missed opportunities to expose killer cop Wayne Couzens as a sexual predator before he went on to rape and murder Sarah Everard.
It emerged the 48-year-old was known as ‘the rapist’ by staff at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary because he made female colleagues feel so uncomfortable.
He had been accused of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015 and in London in the days before Ms Everard’s murder, but was allowed to continue working.
Priti Patel has announced there will be an independent inquiry into the ‘systematic failures’ that allowed Wayne Couzens to serve as a Met police officer and murder Sarah Everard.
The Home Secretary said that ‘recent tragic events have exposed unimaginable failures in policing’.
On March 3, Couzens staged a fake Covid arrest, handcuffed Sarah Everard (pictured), 33, and put her in his car before driving 80 miles to Kent where he raped and murdered her
She said that the public ‘have a right to know’ why Couzens was able to be employed by the Metropolitan Police.
Addressing the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Ms Patel said: ‘I can confirm today, there will be an inquiry, to give the independent oversight needed, to ensure something like this can never happen again.’
The inquiry will look at Couzens’ career in the Metropolitan Police and determine if red flags were missed to identify him as a threat.
The probe is likely to be viewed as a warning shot at Met chief Cressida Dick who has faced calls to quit following the murder of Ms Everard.
The inquiry will be split into two parts, with the first examining Couzens’ previous behaviour.
It will seek to establish a ‘definitive account’ of his conduct leading up to his conviction, as well ‘any opportunities missed’.
The second part of the probe will look at ‘specific issues raised by the first part of the inquiry’.
That could include examining wider issues across policing, including vetting practices, discipline and workplace behaviour.
Ms Patel will also write to the independent police inspectorate HMICFRS to commission a ‘thematic inspection of vetting and counter-corruption procedures in policing across England and Wales’.
This will look at how forces detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.
The Home Office said the inquiry will be established on a non-statutory footing but ‘can be converted to a statutory inquiry if required’.
Couzens (pictured) is known to have committed an indecent exposure, driving round naked from the waist down in his car, when he served with them in 2015
He has been identified as being responsible for indecent exposure at a McDonald’s restaurant days before he targeted Ms Everard, 33, while she walked home in Clapham, south London
A chairman for the inquiry and its terms of reference will be announced by the Government in due course.
In light of Ms Everard’s murder, all sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Metropolitan Police officers over the last ten years will also be reviewed.
Dame Cressida Dick, commissioner for the force, announced on Friday that an investigation is being launched into all current cases of sexual misconduct or domestic abuse allegations against London’s police officers.
Dame Cressida, 60, also revealed similar allegations that have been made against both officers and workers at the force over the last ten years will be reviewed.
Officers from the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards will analyse each of the cases internally and will undertake a check of the vetting history of the staff involved in the claims.
The under-fire commissioner, who is resisting calls to resign, said: ‘We’ll be reviewing them [the allegations] to make sure that the victim has been properly supported, and that the investigation is suitably thorough.
‘We’ll also be going back to look at some of those [historic] investigations just to make sure that the processes that should have taken place have taken place and that we are taking the right management action after the case is closed.’
The force said in a statement the examination, which has been launched in addition to an independent review into the Met’s culture by Baroness Casey of Blackstock, was being held in the aftermath Ms Everard’s murder.
Dame Cressida said she was ‘delighted’ to announce Baroness Blackstock will be in charge of an ‘independent and far-reaching review’ lasting an estimated six months.
She said: ‘She will be looking at our vetting, our recruitment, our leadership, our training and all manner of processes to see how they reinforce the best possible standards.
‘She’ll make a public report, and public recommendations, so that we can improve and make sure that the public have more confidence in us.’
Dame Cressida said Baroness Casey – who has been leading an inquiry into how England yobs were able to break into Wembley during the Euros final – was a strong candidate for the job.
‘I think she’s got the right character, and the right expertise, and the right background, to do this review,’ she said.
In light of Ms Everard’s murder, all sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Metropolitan Police officers over the last ten years will also be reviewed, Cressida Dick (pictured) confirmed
Baroness Casey said: ‘Trust is given to the police by our, the public’s, consent. So any acts that undermine that trust must be examined and fundamentally changed.
‘This will no doubt be a difficult task but we owe it to the victims and families this has affected and the countless decent police officers this has brought into disrepute.’
The spotlight will also be shone on the force’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command – which killer Wayne Couzens worked for – with a ‘root-and-branch review’ looking at whether there are any ‘specific issues’ within the unit.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has welcomed the appointment of Baroness Casey to lead the independent review into the Met’s culture and standards.
In a series of tweets, Mr Khan said: ‘Baroness Casey’s review must look into the wider culture of the Met Police, including issues of misogyny, sexism, racism and homophobia as well as thoroughly examining recruitment, vetting, training, leadership and standards of behaviour among officers and staff.
‘I’ve been clear with the Met Commissioner about the scale of the challenge we face and the change that’s needed, and I will continue to play my full part in holding the Met Police to account on behalf of Londoners.’
In the wake of Couzens’ life sentence for murder, it was revealed more than half of Met officers found guilty of sexual misconduct over a four-year period to 2020 kept their jobs, a total of 43 officers out of 83 or 52 per cent.
Along with the handling of the Everard case, the Metropolitan Police are also facing heat over an independent panel’s finding of ‘institutional corruption’ in the investigation into the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan in 1987.
The private investigator was murdered in a south London car park and the panel found that the Met concealed or denied failures in their investigation.
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