Thames Valley Police staff member given suspended jail sentence for child indecent image offences
Headquarters employee also placed on the sex offenders register and handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order
A Thames Valley Police employee has received a suspended prison sentence after admitting offences involving indecent images and pseudo-images of children.
Fred Hart, 33, who worked at the force's Headquarters North in Oxfordshire, was sentenced at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (August 5). He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images and pseudo-images of children.
In addition to the suspended sentence, Hart was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting five years. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and ordered to complete a 35-day rehabilitation programme.
The case followed an investigation by Thames Valley Police's Counter Corruption Unit, which began in October 2024. Hart, whose role did not involve direct contact with the public, was suspended from duty as soon as the investigation was launched.
Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said: "I trust that the decisive action taken by Thames Valley Police to investigate and prosecute Hart's actions underline to all our commitment to maintaining the high standards we all expect in policing.
"The offences he has been convicted of and sentenced for are extremely serious and have absolutely no place within our police force.
"I am grateful to the officers who diligently and professionally investigated his crimes, which led to him pleading guilty."