A FORMER police officer has been jailed after sending pictures of his privates to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Paedophile Leigh Thompson said he messaged the supposed teenager, called ‘Hannah’, using the handle ‘AnOxfordMan’ because he was ‘lonely and bored’ in the first lockdown.
He started the chat on April 9 by saying ‘hello sexy’ and asked if she had ‘Kik’ – a social media platform.
Despite repeatedly saying she was just 13, the 62-year-old wasn’t bothered – instead, he demanded pictures of her topless and asked ‘Hannah’ if she was a virgin.
However Hannah was not a teenage girl, but a police officer from Thompson’s own former force, using a fake identity to lure him into a trap.
He made references about how ‘hard’ he was and sent a video of a couple having sex on a treadmill.
He asked what she was most looking forward to after lockdown, to which ‘Hannah’ replied ‘McDonald’s’ – he said ‘sex’.
Thompson did not know was that he was actually talking to an undercover police officer from Thames Valley Police.
He was arrested on May 18 and said ‘no comment’ to all of the questions that investigators put to him.
Thompson had worked as the drugs co-ordinator for Oxfordshire in the force until at least 2010 when he was part of major drug busts uncovering illegal drugs factories in Oxford.
In 2009, he spoke to the Oxford Mail after police discovered a big cannabis farm in Eynsham and another one in East Oxford.
The retired detective, of Osborne Close, Kidlington, appeared in the dock of Oxford Crown Court in a blue suit with a striped shirt yesterday afternoon.
Defending him, Kellie Enever said he ‘is only too aware of the consequences’ because of his ‘previous employment’.
She said he been speaking to the decoy as a ‘coping strategy’ for lockdown and is currently getting £2,000 a month from his police pension. He retired in 2010, after working as the drugs co-ordinator for Oxfordshire.
Judge Maria Lamb said: “I accept you are a man of good character and you have expressed remorse.
“Both [reports] say you participated out of loneliness and boredom but there would have been many people who were lonely and bored in lockdown who did not commit these crimes.
“It was quite clearly for sexual gratification.”
Having previously admitted three charges at Oxford Magistrates’ Court, Judge Lamb sentenced him yesterday afternoon.
For count one of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, he was jailed for nine months.
For count two of attempting to cause a child to watch or look at an image of sexual activity, he was jailed for six months.
For count three of attempting to insight a child to engage in sexual activity, he was jailed for 14 months.
All three will be served concurrently – meaning at the same time.
Despite pleas from his counsel, Judge Lamb said it would ‘not be appropriate’ to suspend the sentence and said he would be spending 14 months behind bars.
She added: “I see no reason why the public purse should bare the costs,” ordering Thompson to pay £425 plus a victim surcharge.
He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
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