Met Police volunteer jailed for 24 years for raping a child

A volunteer Met Police volunteer has been jailed for raping and sexually abusing a child.

James Bubb groomed one of his two victims online before sexually assaulting her when she was just 12 years old.

The 28-year-old was found guilty following a trial last summer. He was also convicted of raping a woman he met online while posing as a 16-year-old girl.

Bubb identified as a man at the time of the offences but now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels.

The former special constable was sentenced to a total of 32 years, made up of 24 years’ imprisonment and a further eight years on extended licence, at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday.

Judge Jonathan Cooper said Bubb ‘abused the most intimate trust of your victims’ in ‘a campaign of abuse against each that was intended to break their will entirely’.

Jurors at the trial heard the officer sexually assaulted the girl in public shortly before her 13th birthday.

The trial was told Bubb choked and punched the girl when he raped and sexually abused her in her early teens.

Amersham Law Courts heard Bubb met his first victim on chat roulette site Omegle in 2018 before meeting in person for the first time at a Christian festival a few months later.

The girl said the defendant looked ‘paranoid’ when they were with her and she was being ‘hidden’ when they were in public together – telling police her festival colour-coded child wristband was clearly on show.

Bubb’s first victim also said he spoke ‘a lot about the powers he had’ in his role with the Met as a special constable.

The court heard the officer raped his second victim, a woman who had just turned 18 when they met, while they were in an on-off relationship between January 2018 and February 2023.

In relation to the first victim, Bubb was found guilty of one count of raping a child under 13, one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and one count of assault by penetration.

The defendant, of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was found not guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child in relation to that complainant, and found guilty of one count of rape against the second victim.

All charges took place between January 1, 2018 and April 2, 2024.

The judge said he understands the defendant, who has been in the male prison estate while in custody, will remain there.

‘The key point is that you are a very significant risk to women,’ Judge Cooper said.

‘This is not predicated on your trans status, but on your criminal status.’

Bubb was also made the subject of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order, banning him from contacting young women.

Paul Robson, a lawyer from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The defendant targeted these victims and exploited their vulnerability and trust.

‘When the victims asked for the abuse to stop, they were ignored.

‘The defendant had clearly sought to attain positions of trust within the community to gain the trust of the victims and the people around them.

‘The offending has had a profound effect on the victims, and we are very grateful to them for their unwavering support throughout this prosecution.

‘As this case shows, we will prosecute those who exploit and harm others, and hope this serves as a warning that justice will come to those who offend in this way.’

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