Isle of Wight paramedic struck off after indecent pictures found

Andrew Martindale (not pictured) was struck off by the watchdog last month

A paramedic who allegedly chatted to an undercover police officer about travelling to abuse a girl, 13, has been struck off.

Andrew Martindale, 61, who worked for Isle of Wight NHS Trust, admitted one count of making an indecent photograph of a child in June 2021.

Police found images of children on a phone and laptop at his Newport house.

The health tribunal watchdog was "not satisfied" Martindale would not reoffend in the future.

Prosecutors at Isle of Wight Crown Court said four charges were initially brought against him, but the other three were allowed to lie on file after he offered to plead guilty to making indecent photographs of a child, the tribunal's transcript showed.

The transcript details how the court heard he sent a message to an undercover male police officer who pretended to be a woman with a daughter, aged 13.

'Profession into disrepute'

In a "highly sexualised chat", Martindale and the officer discussed "acts that they or one of them would do to the 13-year-old girl".

Police stopped the operation before officers visited Martindale's house, where they found two indecent images on a laptop computer and another on a mobile phone.

The court heard he was "riddled with remorse" and "it was very much the lady [Martindale] thought he was dealing with, not so much the daughter", the tribunal transcript said.

Martindale was sentenced to a two-year community order with a requirement of 30 days of rehabilitation activity. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order of five years.

Striking him off the register on Thursday, the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service said Martindale "brought the profession into disrepute and broke one of the fundamental tenets of the profession."