Met Police Under Fire After Labour Aide Commits Second Public Sex Offence
The Metropolitan Police Service is slammed after letting Sam Gould, a Labour Party aide, roam free to commit a second indecent exposure crime — despite having his vehicle’s registration from an earlier offence.
‘Shades of Wayne Couzens’ Horror
Back in February, a woman reported Gould for publicly masturbating in Hornchurch, handing police his number plate. But no arrest followed. By March, he was at it again, exposing himself and chasing a 13-year-old girl in Romford as she fled in terror.
Gould, 33, formerly a Labour councillor in Redbridge and senior aide to Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, was sacked and resigned after his arrest.
Outraged locals compared the Met’s bungling to the Wayne Couzens scandal — the rogue officer who murdered Sarah Everard after earlier flashing incidents were ignored.
“Shades of what happened with Couzens,” said one reader on the Romford Recorder. “The Met’s failures to act are dangerous and unforgivable.”
Timeline of Blunders
- February 9, 2025: Gould exposed himself to a dog walker in Hornchurch. Police had his registration but took no action.
- March 8, 2025: He targeted a 13-year-old girl on Hainault Road, Romford — exposing himself, then chasing her on foot and by car.
The court described both attacks as “sexually predatory behaviour.” Gould pleaded guilty to two counts of outraging public decency with intent and received a suspended prison sentence plus a rehabilitation order on April 28, 2025.
Women’s Groups Slam Met Police
Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, blasted the Met’s handling of the case:
“This shows that nothing has changed since Sarah Everard’s murder. Indecent exposure is still treated like a tiny issue instead of the serious crime it is.”
She condemned the timing, pointing out the second attack happened on International Women’s Day, while the Met were busy hosting events claiming to prioritise women’s safety.
The Met now face growing calls to fix their flawed approach to protecting the public from sexual predators on the loose.
