Ex-Hertfordshire Police detective jailed for possessing extreme porn

Stuart Cheek was a detective superintendent with Hertfordshire Police

A former police detective has been sentenced to a year in prison for possessing extreme pornographic images.

Stuart Cheek, 45, who worked for Hertfordshire Police, was found to have illegal images on his phone when it was searched by officers.

The images included scenes of "acts likely to cause serious harm and bestiality", the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

He was found guilty of two counts of possessing extreme pornography.

Cheek was also convicted of one count of unauthorised access to computer material at Cambridge Crown Court in July.

The CPS said an audit found Cheek had "accessed a number of files on a number of police systems without a legitimate policing purpose".

He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment at Aylesbury Crown Court.

'Abuse of power'

The illegal images were sent and received on a WhatsApp account under the display name "Cheeky", the CPS said.

Clare Forsdike, district crown prosecutor from the East of England complex casework unit, said: "The sharing and viewing of images of extreme pornography is not a victimless crime.

"Cheek's actions were an abuse of power and a criminal act.

"He had no right to view the information he accessed and no right to share the information with another unauthorised individual.

"His actions were a gross abuse of his position and he demonstrated further disregard for the law he is meant to uphold."