A Metropolitan Police officer who violently abused and lied to a string of girlfriends while taking their money to feed his gambling habit has been found guilty of fraud and coercive control.
Lewis Rollins, 28, who was a PC in the Met's Central West Command Unit, used women he met on dating apps to fund his out-of-control betting habit, and told a series of lies to hide his true financial peril.
Southwark Crown Court heard Rollins was dating two women simultaneously and taking money from both of them, and he then struck up a relationship with a third woman who was convinced to take out a £4,000 loan to help with his spiralling debts.
On Thursday, Rollins was found guilty by a jury of two counts of coercive or controlling behaviour and three charges of fraud.
Prosecutor Rekha Kodikara told jurors during the trial that Rollins' financial problems were "largely due to a gambling habit" and that he turned to the women to help fund him and his living expenses.
Dr Georgia Miller, who met Rollins on dating app Bumble in April 2022, told of his "bursts of anger", name calling, acts of violence and controlling jealousy including monitoring her phone.
She accused Rollins of "losing it" and attacking her in a Birmingham hotel room in July 2022, when he thought she had been texting an ex-boyfriend.
Dr Miller described being thrown out of bed by Mr Rollins and then "slammed" against a wall.
She said: "He pushed me against the wall... he had me by the throat, but like with one hand so I could still breathe.
"I don't think he was trying to kill me, he was just trying to scare me."
She said that she lent Rollins "so much money" that she was struggling to make ends meet just as she was graduating and starting work as a doctor.
Financial transactions seen by the jury showed Dr Miller sent Rollins £1,000 for a bet on one occasion when he had "insisted" that it would pay off, and sent him over £1,000 on another occasion to pay his rent.
Dr Miller said she felt "trapped" in the relationship as she tried to help with his debts, and she even helped him to apply for a loan from the Met Police.
Ms Kodikara said Rollins was controlling in the relationship by repeatedly threatening to kill himself, creating an "emotional burden" on her.
When Rollins started dating Dr Miller he was already seeing another woman - Alisha Steeds - after meeting her in February 2022.
She gave the police officer £1,500 to cover his rent, the court heard.
Rollins insisted he "always intended to pay her back" but the court heard that Dr Miller had given him money to pay to Ms Steeds, but he had gambled it away instead.
The court also heard from trainee solicitor Emily Busby, who met Rollins on a dating app in 2023 and described how she lent him money after feeling sorry for him.
She gave Rollins £800 to pay the deposit on his accommodation after he "gambled away" money he had been given by his parents, jurors were told.
Ms Busby said: "I think I could sense his urgency and I was hesitant to give it to him as you can see because it was a large amount of money but he kept pushing and pushing,
"I think the way he was messaging was in a way to make me feel bad for him, like I was the only one who could help him and there was no one else."
She added that Rollins threatened to take his own life "a lot" which was "one of the reasons" she was so worried about him.
In December 2023, she took out a £4,000 loan for Rollins, giving £2,500 of the money to the constable while using the rest to pay off her own debts.
When giving evidence, Rollins insisted to the jury: "If you owe someone money you pay them back - you don't buy things, you don't go on holiday, you don't do things until you pay people what you owe.
"That's how I have been brought up."
Rollins, of Fareham in Hampshire, denied all the charges against him.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on a sixth charge, of damaging property, after Dr Miller accused him of breaking a necklace during an altercation on a night out.
