A Met Police officer used CCTV cameras to stalk his ex-girlfriend after he suggested she should take up sex work to pay the bills, a court heard.
PC Jonathan Simon, 44, sent his former partner messages using withheld numbers after she ended their relationship because he just wanted sex, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
Prosecutor Harry MacDonald said they met when Simon was called to the victim’s address after a neighbour dispute on 17 May 2021.
‘The officer was in a position of trust as a responder and investigator.
‘This defendant then manufactured reasons to returned to the victim’s address later on in the day. He did so twice and was alone.’
PC Jonathan Simon (pictured), 44, sent his former partner messages using withheld numbers after she ended their relationship because he just wanted sex, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard
Mr MacDonald added: ‘His final attendance was late in the evening, and he was let in by the victim.
‘They initially discussed her complaint, before discussing her feelings more generally, where she confided in the defendant about her distresses and difficulties.
‘He then offered her a massage [to relax her] and they then became intimate that evening.’
A relationship started but the victim ended it because she thought Simon only wanted her for sex.
Giving evidence today (thurs) behind a screen, the woman told the court: ‘I didn’t know what type of person he was. I think him being a police officer meant I let my guard down a bit.
‘He was very friendly at the start and then I started to get to know what sort of man he is.
‘I realised over time [the relationship] was only for sex for him and I started getting concerned for my children.’
During the autumn of 2021 she faced financial difficulty when her car needed repairing and she turned to Simon for advice.
The woman claims Simon encouraged her to take up sex work in order to help her financial situation.
She told the court ‘He told me to offer myself to prostitution.
‘He told me how to do, it where to go, how long it would take me then to buy a brand-new car… so these are all factors that contributed to me to worrying about the type of person he was.’
‘What action, if any, did you take to end the sexual relationship?’ asked Mr Macdonald.
‘I went along with it, and [I realised] what type of person he is. I tried to get away, but he was very persistent.
‘I felt like he wanted to take advantage of my emotional state…but I couldn’t [carry on] I was sick.
‘I was physically sick…and I made my mind up I was like ‘no I’ve had enough’… so that’s when I decided to block him on everything.’
‘You made reference to him watching you on close circuit television, can you just tell the court about that?’ asked the prosecutor.
She replied: ‘I remember it was after school, I picked up my kids at my usual stop and I parked there.
‘He texted me saying he could see me. I thought he had driven by because I couldn’t see anyone there.
‘He carried on saying he could see me from the CCTV camera that’s up the road.
‘He was texting me saying ‘why are you taking so long what are you doing,’ the victim said.
Mr MacDonald asked: ‘On this occasion would he have been aware of your routine or not?’
Simon has been suspended from the Met Police and has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct
The woman replied: ‘Yes. He was very persistent and controlling, he kept trying to [contact me with] private numbers so I would answer the calls.’
Simon then turned up at the victim’s address uninvited one evening and texted the victim telling her he was outside.
She sent a message back saying she was not well.
‘I was scared to open the door in-case he would push through and I couldn’t get away from him,’ she said.
‘I just wanted to be nice. He tried to get to me again and the way he was talking, he asked me to ‘keep him warm’ which I believed meant he wanted to be intimate again.’
In January 2022 Simon attended the victim’s address with a colleague.
‘The colleague rang the doorbell so the victim would open the door, then Simon said he needed to speak to the victim,’ Mr MacDonald said.
‘She recalls a part of the exchange where he started to cup her face in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.
‘Between May and June 2022, the victim recalls the defendant attending her address unsolicited, and manufacturing a reason to speak with her.
‘It is on one occasion the prosecution say he entered her personal space to hug her, she didn’t want to hug him, but it was an awkward situation and she felt trapped and went along with it.
‘The prosecution say the defendant then grabbed her bottom and said, ‘I’ve missed this.’
The court heard Simon was arrested on 4 July when he arrived at work at the start of his shift and said: ‘What the f***’.
Simon joined the police as a special constable in 2010 before becoming a salaried officer in 2013.
He has been suspended and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Simon, of Colchester, denies stalking without fear of violence.
The trial continues.
