A serving British Transport Police sergeant has been convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child.
James Chatfield, 36, of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, admitted two offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, 18th November 2022.
Sexual communication with a child is an offence under section 15A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It has a maximum penalty of 12 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction; 2 years' custody on conviction on indictment. Attempted sexual communication, which has the same maximum penalties, is an offence by virtue of section 1 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981.
Offences like this are unfortunately quite common. As it might not be immediately obvious, I should mention that the reason this has been charged as an attempt is because Chatfield was snared communicating with undercover police officers posing as a children instead of with actual children.
The court heard that Chatfield posed as a 17-year-old boy when he engaged in conversation with what he believed were 12-year-old girls on Snapchat and Chat Avenue.
On 23rd September 2022 he used Snapchat to communicate with a supposed 12-year-old girl, who he asked "do you have little boobs?" and "would you like to show me?"
On 26th September 2022 he used Chat Avenue to communicate with a supposed 12-year-old girl, who he asked about her "cute bum" and said "can I come and feel it?" He also asked the girl to wear "something small and revealing" and suggested "how about a see-through vest and mini skirt?"
An investigation by South Wales Police confirmed that the Snapchat account was linked to an IP address associated with Chatfield's mobile phone.
Having considered the circumstances District Judge Michael Snow sent the case to Southwark Crown Court for sentencing, on a date yet to be confirmed.
In the meantime Chatfield, who is suspended from duty, was granted bail with the conditions that he lives and sleeps at his Huntingdon address, has no unsupervised contact with children and has no online communication with children.
Deputy Chief Constable Alistair Sutherland of the British Transport Police said: "As police officers it is our overriding duty to protect the public and particularly the vulnerable from harm, so it is profoundly disturbing to know that a serving officer could ever consider exploiting a child for their own sexual gain.
"I speak for everyone at British Transport Police when I say we are all truly shocked and appalled by the actions of James Chatfield. He does not represent our values and now he has been criminally convicted, we will be looking to fast track his disciplinary proceedings as soon as practicably possible.
"It is thanks to the swift and thorough investigation by our Professional Standards Department that Chatfield was arrested, charged, and brought before the courts to face justice within two months of these abhorrent offences."
The convictions signify a major fall from grace for Chatfield, who has twice been commended by the Royal Humane Society for saving the life of a member of the public and attempting to save the life of a fallen colleague.
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