Kent police officer fired after false child abuse claims against driving school

A Kent police sergeant has lost his job after he accused a local driving school operator of child sex abuse. Photo / Jordan Pettitt, PA Images via Getty Images

A Kent police officer has lost his job after he harassed his son’s prospective driving school with unproven allegations that staff were involved in child sex trafficking.

Sergeant Gabriel Chandler was sacked in December after an inquiry into false claims he made against Mark Elliot, the owner of Intensives UK, Metro reported.

Chandler paid a £1359 ($3078) fee to enter his son into a driving course at the school, but the boy was not able to attend because he had either not passed the theory test or never sat it at all.

The angry father reportedly rang Intensives UK as many as 30 to 50 times a day over six months after refusing to accept an offer of a partial refund in 2022.

In emails, he made several claims about Elliot, alleging the other man had sexually abused children and was involved in human trafficking linked to the dark web.

“You fraudsters are funding a paedophile ring exploiting child sex slaves. It’s a fact known to every agency seeking you out.”

According to GB News, Chandler sent various threatening emails that invoked his position in the police to intimidate the driving school and its staff.

“Do the right thing, because once this starts, I can’t stop. [Your] homes and offices will be raided. You will all face heavy custodial sentences. And in my experience, fraudsters aren’t built for prison. Your families, they’ll be ripped apart.”

He also posted some of his allegations online through reviews of Intensives UK.

According to Metro, Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, head of professional standards at Kent Police, said a certain calibre of behaviour was expected of all members of the force.

“Even when off duty, police officers are still held to the highest standards of professional conduct and, in this case, PC Chandler’s behaviour fell far below what is expected of our officers and staff.”

Described as an “intelligent and successful police officer”, Chandler was dismissed to protect the reputation of his colleagues after the report found his off-duty actions towards Intensives UK constituted misconduct.

“It was absolutely plain that the tone and content of the emails demonstrated that he failed to do this.”