Police REFUSE to name officer who shared indecent image of child with paedo and he WON’T face charges – The Sun
A POLICE officer who shared indecent images of children with a convicted paedophile will NOT face any criminal charges.
The cop, who has not been named by his force to "protect innocent people associated with him", was found with over 500 images of teenage girls on his mobile phone.
A misconduct hearing was told he exchanged a series of messages on Facebook with a man who has since been convicted of child sex offences.
Among those was an indecent image of a child, while the chat was indicative of "someone who has a sexual interest in children."
He also created a Snapchat account in order to facilitate contact with girls aged between 14-16 years-old between July 2017 to January 2018.
Analysis of his mobile phone revealed that websites visited and viewed by the officer suggested content of indecent images of underage children.
PROBE – BUT NO PROSECUTION
The West Midlands Police neighbourhood officer, who served with the force for 20 years, was investigated by West Mercia Police.
They referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service but a decision was made not to prosecute the cop, known only as Officer A.
Following the criminal investigation West Midlands Police Professional Standards Department commissioned further investigation of the officer's conduct.
GROSS MISCONDUCT
Chief Constable Dave Thompson found his actions amounted to gross misconduct and said he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned in December.
He told the hearing at the force's HQ at Lloyd House in Birmingham today: "Enquiries revealed over 500 images on his mobile phone that revealed a sexual interest in teenage girls.
"I am satisfied he had a sexual interest in girls under 16.
"The officer in question was a Facebook user and he exchanged chat and images with a person under a pseudonym.
"Officer A created a Snapchat account to talk to girls under the age of 16.
"This behaviour was indicative of someone who had a sexual interest in children.
"There is no mitigation in this case. Dismissal would have been justified had the officer still been serving today.
"It causes harm to people who are subjects of abuse.
"It is totally unimaginable that someone who has behaved in this way could remain as a police officer.
"He has brought great shame on the police and there are no mitigating factors.
"It is totally unimaginable that someone who has behaved in this way could remain as a police officer."
Officer A will also be barred from being employed or appointed by a police force or other specified law enforcement body for a minimum of five years.
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