A 30-year-old married police officer had sex with a missing 17-year-old girl as his fellow police officers were looking for her.

30-year-old Andrew Brooks was found guilty of gross misconduct.

He reportedly met the 17-year-old girl in Maidstone town center in Kent March 2018 and invited her to his house.

The wife of the 30-year-old police officer was away for the weekend when he had sex with the teenager, who was missing at that time.

A police panel heard last week that later that day the girl, who was named Miss X, revealed that she was just 17-years-old to the police constable.

PC Brooks, who left the Met Police on June 17, 2019, continued texting the 17-year-old girl despite learning her age.

He later found out that the girl was missing.

Despite the girl revealing her age, the 30-year-old police officer continued to send text messages to the girl.

The police officer tried to pursue a relationship with the 17-year-old teenager.

The officer also pressured her to hide his true identity and to keep their sexual encounter as a secret.

The police panel found the 30-year-old police officer guilty of gross misconduct.

At the hearing, which happened last week, authorities heard how the police officer texted the 17-year-old girl in desperation after he learned that the police visited her house in connection with her disappearance.

The misconduct hearing concluded that the police officer had breached the police standards in relation to discreditable conduct and honesty and integrity.

The panel concluded that if PC Brooks was still a police officer, he would have been dismissed from duty.