A Metropolitan Police detective sergeant is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday after being charged with five counts of sexual assault. The Metropolitan Police said Detective Sergeant Prakash Patel, who is attached to its North West Command Unit, was charged on 24 July. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges following further enquiries, the force said.
The case concerns allegations, not findings of fact. Patel is presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty in court.
What the police have confirmed
In a statement published on 3 September, the Met said Patel was due before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 4 September. It said the charges had been laid on 24 July.
According to the force, one alleged incident took place on an unspecified date during the summer of 2024. The other four are alleged to have taken place on Tuesday, 3 December 2024. The five charges relate to four women known to Patel. The women continue to be supported by investigating officers, the Met said.
The force did not publish the women’s names or further details of the individual allegations. No identities of complainants have been disclosed in this report.
Patel was arrested on 24 April 2025 after an investigation was launched by the Met’s Central South Command Unit alongside its Directorate of Professional Standards. He was suspended from duty on the same day, the force said. After further enquiries, the case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges.
The public information identifies a charge total, dates of the alleged incidents and a scheduled court appearance. It does not set out evidence, a plea or any finding by a court. Those distinctions matter when reporting a pending criminal case.
Why the procedural status matters
The Met’s notice describes a criminal charge against a serving officer who has been suspended, not a disciplinary finding and not a conviction. The distinction is important in a case involving allegations of sexual assault: a charging decision means the case has entered the court process, but it does not establish that an offence was committed.
Nor does the published announcement say how Patel will respond to the charges. It does not record a plea, a verdict, a sentence, bail conditions or any outcome from Westminster Magistrates’ Court. None of those matters should be inferred from the force’s statement or from the scheduled appearance.
The allegation that the women were known to Patel is part of the Met’s account of the case. The statement does not set out the nature of those relationships, and it would be wrong to speculate about them. The reported dates and charge total are the limits of the public detail provided by the police announcement.
Public confidence and due process
For Londoners, the case brings together two matters that require particular care: accountability when a police officer is accused of serious criminal conduct, and a fair process for a defendant facing charges. The Met said the investigation involved both a local command unit and its professional standards directorate before the case was referred to prosecutors. The suspension reported by the force means Patel has not been on duty since his arrest in April 2025.
The published information also indicates that officers are continuing to support the four women. Beyond that, the Met notice does not disclose information about the investigation or evidence, and the court process will have to deal with the allegations on the basis of the material put before it.
The pending proceedings concern allegations reported by the Met as occurring in 2024 and are separate from any other policing investigations in London. The scheduled hearing will determine the next stage in this specific case, not the outcome of unrelated allegations.
What happens next
Patel is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 4 September, according to the Metropolitan Police. The court appearance is the next confirmed procedural step in the published account. Any plea, future hearing date, bail decision or other result would need to be confirmed through the court process or an authoritative update; readers should not assume an outcome from a scheduled listing.
Until there is such an outcome, the precise status is that Patel has been charged with five counts of sexual assault and is due in court. The allegations remain allegations, and the presumption of innocence applies.
