Police employee sentenced for indecent child images
BBCA former police force employee has received a suspended prison sentence after he was convicted of making indecent images of children.
Fred Hart had worked in a non-public facing role at Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, before he was suspended in 2024.
On Wednesday, the 33-year-old was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, following a hearing at Swindon Magistrates' Court.
He had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images/pseudo images of children.
Alongside the suspended prison sentence, Hart was handed a sexual harm prevention order for five years, and placed on the registered sex offenders list for seven years.
He was also made the subject of a 35-day rehabilitation order.
Thames Valley Police said Hart had been "suspended immediately" from his duties at the force's Kidlington base when an investigation was launched in October 2024.
Ben Snuggs, the force's deputy chief constable, said the offences Hart had been convicted of were "extremely serious" and have "absolutely no place within our police force".
"I trust that the decisive action taken by Thames Valley Police to investigate and prosecute Hart's actions underline all our commitment to maintaining the high standards we all expect in policing," he said.
