DARREN O'CONNOR, COVENTRY POLICE SPECIAL CONSTABLE, JAILED FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION CRIMES IN COVENTRY

A former police officer has been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of possessing and distributing a significant number of indecent images of children. Darren O'Connor, who served as a special constable with Warwickshire Police, engaged in these illicit activities for over a year, starting from August 2021. His actions came to light when detectives conducted a raid at his residence in Coventry in January 2023, leading to his arrest and subsequent investigation.

During the police operation, authorities discovered that O'Connor had stored the illicit images on two separate mobile phones. The investigation revealed that he not only possessed these images but also shared them, which compounded the severity of his crimes. O'Connor pleaded guilty to multiple charges at Warwick Crown Court, specifically admitting to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of distributing such images. The court was informed that among the images found, 372 were classified as the most severe category, known as Category A, indicating the highest level of depravity.

Following his arrest, O'Connor resigned from his position at Nuneaton Police Station. However, a subsequent gross misconduct hearing determined that he would have been dismissed from his role had he not chosen to resign voluntarily. The court sentenced him to eight months in prison, and he was also placed on the sex offenders' register for a decade. Additionally, a sexual harm prevention order was imposed, restricting his activities for ten years to prevent further offenses.

Det Supt Paul Thompson commented on the case, emphasizing the gravity of O'Connor's misconduct. He stated, “As a serving special constable, O’Connor would have understood what he was doing was wrong.