Ex-officer sentenced over child indecent images

York Crown Court heard Beckwith was very remorseful for his actions

A former North Yorkshire Police officer has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting charges of voyeurism and having indecent images of children.

Paul Beckwith, 53, from York, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of possessing indecent images and five counts of voyeurism.

At York Crown Court on Wednesday, a judge sentenced him to 14 months imprisonment, but suspended the sentence for 18 months.

The court was told that Beckwith had been dismissed by North Yorkshire Police in April and the offences did not relate to his work while a police officer.

Police had attended Beckwith's home on 17 November 2024 following information received regarding images of children, the court heard.

The prosecution said the defendant apparently told the investigating officer that such images were "not my thing".

However, investigators had seized two devices and found 11 images in the most serious category A, two in category B and 9 in category C.

They had been downloaded in a single file and were deleted shortly afterwards, with the exception of two of the category C images which had been taken by the defendant, the court was told.

'Pure shock'

Further examination of Beckwith's devices revealed almost 300 images of a woman and four teenage girls taken without their knowledge.

In statements read in court, one of the women said she had been unknowingly photographed in what she had "considered a safe space".

She said she felt "violated and objectified" and that "childhood memories had been turned into a nightmare".

Another said she had felt "pure shock" when she was told about the images, adding that it had destroyed what she had thought was a "private safe place" and had left her with anxiety and sleepless nights.

Beckwith had been a serving PC for 25 years, having been a police community support officer before that, and had received five medals and commendations during his service.

The offences did not relate to his work while a police officer, the court heard.

Beckwith had lost his job and his police pension and had shown a "real sense of remorse" and had fully complied with his strict bail conditions while awaiting sentencing, the court was told.

Gross misconduct

Judge Simon Hickey said Beckwith's sentence took into account pre-sentence reports which indicated he was working with mental health support to address his "unhealthy interest in post-pubescent girls".

The judge said he had also taken into account Beckwith's early admission of guilt, his "genuine remorse" and his previous good character.

The indications were that there was "no high risk of reoffending or harm", he added.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Beckwith will be required to do 24 days rehabilitation and take part in a 12-day mental health treatment programme.

He will also be placed on the disbarred list preventing him from working with children and vulnerable people.

North Yorkshire Police said Beckwith had been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct by Chief Constable Tim Forber on 7 April.

The findings of an Accelerated Misconduct Hearing (AMH) could not be reported until criminal proceeding against Beckwith had been completed.

In the AMH report, Mr Forber outlined that while the images of children did not "fall neatly into the categories set out in the guidelines as either violence against women and girls, sexual impropriety, or misconduct involving a vulnerable person, I do consider that the downloading and possession of indecent images of children encourages the creation of such images".

"Behind every one of these images is a victim of abuse. I therefore consider that the officer's culpability is increased because his misconduct does affect vulnerable people and lead to violence against women and girls," he said.

Mr Forber said that he found Beckwith's actions "totally incompatible" with being a police officer and said it had the potential to "significantly undermine public confidence in policing" and dismissal was the only option.

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