Officer jailed for obsession of child sex abuse images that `ruined his life`

A police officer has been sent to prison after almost 500 “horrendous” child sex abuse images were discovered on his computers and mobile phone. Police Constable Leigh Morris, 31, was arrested by his colleagues at his home in Milton Keynes on July 2016 after uncovering his “obsession”. Thames Valley Police officers found 131 Category A images, 217 at Category B and 113 at Category C on his phone and computers. He had used software in an attempt to hide what he had been looking at. Some of the worst images included children as young as three, and one involved a baby. Prosecuting, Douglas Page told Luton Crown Court the offensive material included both pictures and still photographs. “The images are horrendous,” Judge Michael Kay told Morris on Thursday (March 23). “I have heard a lot about you. What one doesn`t hear on these occasions is the position of each one of the children in those images. Each one of those children is a victim and has been abused.” On February 9, Morris pleaded guilty to three offences of possessing indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of children, one offence of possession of extreme pornographic images, and one offence of possessing prohibited images of children. He has been sentenced to one year in prison, registered as a sex offender for ten years, and must abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Cameron Scott, representing Morris, said he “deeply ashamed” of his behaviour and had self-funded a Lucy Faithfull Foundation course, a charity working with internet offenders. Mr Scott added: “He has ruined his life by this obsession. His old life is over. he has damaged his family and lost the career he loves.” Deputy Chief Constable John Campbell said: “Morris committed serious criminal offences in that he was found to be in possession of indecent images of children, including Category A images. “The suffering experienced by the victims of abuse shown in these images cannot be quantified. Thames Valley Police makes every effort to disrupt those who commit these offences to ensure they go through the criminal justice process to face the consequences of their actions and to no longer cause suffering. “In this case, a thorough investigation was carried out by the Paedophile Online Investigation Team and the High Tech Crime Unit to ensure Morris was brought before a court. “I am always deeply disappointed to hear of a criminal offence being committed by a police officer. This undermines the confidence that members of the public should rightly have in the police service and therefore he was dismissed from the force without notice following a special case misconduct hearing.”