Former police officer sent to prison for child sexual abuse
We look at a recent case of sexual abuse by a policeman that has made the headlines. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse by a police officer or anyone involved in law enforcement then contact our helpline for a free case review and details of No Win, No fee funding. We specialise in sexual abuse cases and will deal with your enquiry in total confidence.
An ex police officer convicted of 160 counts of child sexual abuse and blackmail will serve a minimum of 12 years imprisonment.
He was a serving officer at the time of committing these offences and was immediately suspended. However he resigned before he could be dismissed.
The investigation came to light when the disgraced PC purchased child sexual abuse material online using Bitcoin from an organisation called ‘Snap God’. This unravelled a much wider investigation when it was found that the PC had contacted 210 girls between the ages of 10 – 16 and incited them into sending indecent images and videos of themselves via Snapchat. He posed as a teenage boy and used pseudonyms in order to build a relationship and gain the trust of his victims. Once he had received child abuse material, he would blackmail his victims into sending further material by threatening to disclose the material to their loved ones if they did not comply.
One of the demands which the PC made was for his victims to write ‘Snap God’ across their breasts and send him photographs of this. Requests were also made for photographs of them in their school uniform and videos of the victims committing sexual acts on themselves which he secretly recorded. Although it became known to him that some of his victims were feeling suicidal or self-harming, his requests persisted. In total, 4,500 indecent images of children were found on the PC’s devices, despite him making attempts to obstruct the investigation by refusing to disclose passwords.
The PC’s victims were not confined to one location and involved fifteen different police forces throughout the UK contributing to the inquiry. He met one of his victims through the course of his police duties and committed many of these offences whilst on duty.
Due to the offender entering a guilty plea, his sentence has been reduced by one third, meaning he is eligible for parole after 12 years. He has also been given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, and is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
If you have been the victim of sexual abuse by a policeman, or anyone connected with law enforcement, then please contact our free legal helpline.