SUSSEX POLICE INSPECTOR SENTENCED FOR ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL PREDATION
A FORMER police officer chatted online about trying to rape an 11-year-old girl.Sussex Police Detective Inspector Dominic O’Brien had already resigned from the force after being accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to the 14-year-old daughter of a murder victim in 2006.But O’Brien began communicating with someone he believed to be the mother of an 11-year-old on an online chatroom.Lewes Crown Court was informed that O’Brien, aged 52 and residing in Rosemary Avenue, Steyning, showed clear arousal while discussing his sexual desires towards the child.He was in fact talking to an undercover police officer and was traced through his computer’s IP address, leading to his arrest.
He admitted to attempting to publish an obscene article and was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term.
The judge, Mark Van Der Zwart, stated he could not consider the previous allegations against him because police records related to his earlier investigation were unavailable.Prosecutor Richard Barton revealed that during an operation, an undercover officer engaged in conversation with a man named Dominic who expressed interest in young girls, including explicit conversations about what he wished to do with an 11-year-old girl and older girls aged 14-15.
The officer highlighted that O’Brien was a detective inspector involved in a murder investigation in 2006 and had previously interacted sexually with both the widow and daughter of the victim, who was 14 years old at the time.The court noted that O’Brien resigned from the police before any formal disciplinary findings were made.
His actions have been described as strikingly similar to his previous misconduct.
At the time of the 2017 offense, he was working for Adur and Worthing councils, leaving in January 2018.O’Brien pleaded guilty to attempting to publish obscene material.
His sentence was suspended for 18 months, requiring him to complete 20 days of rehabilitation, 200 hours of unpaid work, and pay £450 in prosecution costs.
Sussex Police confirmed that records related to his 2006/7 investigation and disciplinary proceedings were electronically retained and accessible to investigators.
