Ex-Wiltshire Police officer admits owning images of bestiality

Ian Stevenson entered a guilty plea on the day he was due to face trial at Gloucester Crown Court

A former decorated police inspector has pleaded guilty to possessing extreme images involving bestiality.

Ian Stevenson, 57, of The Marsh in Wiltshire, was accused of having 144 illegal images between 2012 and 2020.

He was expected to stand trial before a jury at Gloucester Crown Court earlier, but instead made the plea after asking what the potential sentence might be.

Judge Picton told the court he planned to impose a community sentence of some kind.

Defence barrister, Alun Williams, said the basis of the plea was the images were found on a device on which Stevenson had clicked on a link to them more than once rather than deleting them straight away.

Previous assault conviction

But prosecutor Christopher Smyth said Stevenson, who is now retired, was not a man of entirely good character.

Mr Smyth went on to explain Stevenson had previously been convicted of assaulting two police officers who were arresting him in relation to another enquiry.

At the time he was conditionally discharged and ordered to pay the officers £250 compensation each.

Mr Williams argued Stevenson's 30 years service with Wiltshire Constabulary should be reflected in his sentence.

"As far as family circumstances and his mental health are concerned the probation service will be able to help," he said.

Stevenson won a national bravery award in 2018 for saving a woman's life on train tracks near Salisbury.

The officer grabbed the woman and moved her out of harm's way seconds before the train passed.

After being named South West regional winner at the National Police Bravery Awards, he was described as a "shining example of bravery and dedication to public safety" by Chief Constable Kier Pritchard.

The judge has adjourned sentencing until 6 April to allow the probation service to prepare a pre-sentence report.