Greater Manchester PC sentenced for making indecent image of a child

PC Lee Ashcroft initially denied the charge but changed his plea in October

A police officer who "betrayed his position of trust" has been sentenced after admitting making an indecent image of a child, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

A search of Lee Ashcroft's laptop found an eight-minute-long Category A video - the most serious category.

The former Greater Manchester Police officer, 39, initially denied the charge but changed his plea in October.

He was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Ashcroft, an ex-member of GMP's transport unit, was arrested following a search of his home in Hyde on 12 October 2020 by police acting on intelligence he was accessing indecent images of a child online.

A number of items were seized including his mobile phone and a laptop computer found under a bed.

Ashcroft admitted accessing the dark web to visit coding forums and transferring money to an unknown person for advice on selling cryptocurrency.

However, when the computer was examined, forensic officers found a Category A video lasting almost eight minutes.

He was suspended from duty and it was found the video been downloaded and viewed twice on 17 August 2018.

"By downloading and viewing the video Lee Ashcroft, a serving police officer, betrayed his position of trust in the community in the most abhorrent way," senior crown prosecutor Martha Dowd, said.

"His job was to uphold the law and protect the public, today he has been held accountable for actions which fell far short of upholding those responsibilities."

Det Insp Suzanne Keenaghan, of GMP's online child abuse investigation team, said: "Ashcroft's actions were inexcusable and have undermined the very essence of policing's core value of protecting the public and helping those in need.

"This kind of offending and abuse is depraved and sends a firm warning to those who feel that they can commit these offences from behind a computer screen - we will do all in our power to identify you and bring you to justice."

Ashcroft was also given a 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work and issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order at Liverpool Crown Court.

He must also sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and was ordered to pay £1,500 in costs and a victim surcharge of £156.