JASON HICKS FROM BISHOPSTEIGNTON SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES IN DEVON AND CORNWALL

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Bishopsteignton and the wider Devon and Cornwall area, Jason Hicks, aged 31, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of multiple serious offenses involving the exploitation of children online.

Hicks, who was in the process of training to become a police officer with Devon and Cornwall Police at the time of his crimes, engaged in a series of disturbing online communications with minors. His criminal activities came to light after investigations revealed that he had sent sexual messages and explicit images of himself to a nine-year-old girl. The victim, from the South West, was befriended by Hicks on TikTok, where he posed as an older teenager, before transitioning their communication to Snapchat, where he exchanged sexually explicit messages with her during March and April 2021.

The child's parents became suspicious when they discovered her online interactions with an adult male. Concerned, they contacted local authorities, prompting a police investigation. Following inquiries, officers traced the communications back to Hicks, who was then a student police officer undergoing training in Devon. At that time, Hicks had not yet been assigned to any public-facing or frontline duties, but his actions prompted immediate action.

On January 20, 2022, a warrant was executed at Hicks’s residence in Bishopsteignton by the Devon and Cornwall Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team and the Professional Standards Department. During the search, authorities seized multiple digital devices, including a laptop and an iPad, which contained over 1,200 indecent images and videos of children. These materials ranged from children as young as eight to more severe ‘Category A’ images, with 127 classified as the most serious.

Hicks fully admitted to the offenses during his police interview, revealing that he had been involved in such activities dating back to 2012. He expressed a sense of relief at being caught, which was considered during sentencing. He pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including engaging in sexual communication with a child, inciting her to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to do the same with four other children. Between December 2021 and January 2022, Hicks exchanged sexual messages via Snapchat with four children he believed to be between 11 and 13 years old. Despite extensive efforts by investigators, the identities of these victims remain unknown, with IP address analysis linking their locations to the USA, Sweden, and Yorkshire.

Following his arrest and investigation, Hicks was swiftly dismissed from the police force in February 2022 after misconduct proceedings. He was also placed on the College of Policing Barred List, preventing him from working in law enforcement again. In addition to his prison sentence, Hicks was issued a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his contact with minors and mandates the destruction of his digital devices. Upon release, he will serve an additional three years on licence, provided he is deemed safe for reintegration into society.

This case underscores the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies in Devon and Cornwall to combat online child exploitation and protect vulnerable minors from predators like Jason Hicks.