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A disgraced ex Met cop has been found guilty of trying to molest a child. Paedophile Thomas Thorpe was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court earlier today (March 28).
He was found guilty of three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, and attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity. Thorpe was also found guilty of attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, as well as attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
He was remanded in custody to be sentenced at the same court on May 14. Thorpe spoke online with a person he believed was a 12-year-old girl, but was in fact an undercover police officer from West Midlands Police.
Thorpe sent sexually explicit images to the ‘girl’ over four-week period in November and December 2019. He was arrested December 6 2019 and a search of digital devices recovered from his home found indecent images of children.
The devices also had the images that he been sent to the ‘girl’. Thorpe was suspended from duty following his arrest in December 2019. He resigned from the Met in September 2022.
An accelerated misconduct hearing took place in May 2023 and found former PC Thorpe had breached the standards of professional behaviour which amounted to gross misconduct. He would have been sacked had he not already resigned.
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, local policing commander in South London, said: “People rightly expect police officers to uphold the highest standards and when an officer fails to meet those standards they can expect to face the consequences of their actions through the courts and our own misconduct process.
"Former PC Thorpe’s behaviour was abhorrent and he has been convicted of serious sexual offences. Prior to his conviction misconduct proceedings established that he would have been sacked had he not already left the organisation.”