A former Met Police officer appeared in court charged with misconduct after he is alleged to have formed an “inappropriate relationship” with a 16-year-old girl.

Che Homersham, 36, from Southgate, was a serving police constable at the time of the alleged offence.

He faces a single count of “wilfully misconducting himself” when he was a holder of public office as a police constable in the Met’s north-west basic command unit.

Homersham is alleged to have formed “an inappropriate relationship between December 2018 and January 2019 with a child, a 16-year-old girl, who he met during the course of his duties”, the force said.

District judge Annabel Pilling, sitting at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, said the case is too serious to be dealt with by magistrates and she referred it to Southwark Crown Court.

The defendant, who only spoke to confirm his name and address, has not yet given an indication as to plea, the court heard.

Homersham was released on bail, on condition that he does not contact directly or indirectly the girl involved in the case, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The Met said Homersham was charged following an investigation by its anti-corruption unit, carried out under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The investigation began in June 2023 after the IOPC received a mandatory conduct referral from the Met.

It was completed in May and the police watchdog decided to send a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charge.

Homersham resigned from the Met in February 2024.

He will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on November 27 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.