FORMER POLICE OFFICER JAILED FOR CHILD SEX CHATS
A FORMER police detention officer - who confessed to sexual chats with an undercover detectives and a paedophile hunters' group - has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.Philip Thompson, 63, even denied he had been communicating with 13-year-old girls when he was confronted with the evidence near his Royton home, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told.
Thompson, who lives on the town's Oozewood estate, is now beginning a 42-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to offences of attempted sexual communication with underage girls and attempted incitement of a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to meet a child after grooming.
Colin Buckle, prosecuting, said Thompson, whose handle online was "AbSailor0" was first involved in online conversations with a decoy run by police in October 2019.
The defendant was told during the course of the messaging that the "girl" he was chatting with was aged 13 and lived in Dorset, the court heard.
The defendant informed her he was a 62-year-old man from Manchester and asked the "girl" if she was really 13, said Mr Buckle.
The content of the conversation then became sexual, with the defendant making it clear he liked to meet "girls around the age of 13".
Thompson claimed he "liked to meet them for sex" and then asked the decoy personal and sexual questions.
He also said he wanted the "girl" to trust him so they could arrange to meet up at some point.
He shared explicit images with the decoy and sent a photo of himself.
The decoy then transmitted a picture of a young girl, dressed in a short skirt, black tights, and a white blouse, with her face obscured behind a camera.
Thompson immediately sent an obscene message in reply and asked the "girl" if he could be her boyfriend or lover.
At the same time, Thompson was involved in conversations on Kik messenger with another decoy working for the Justice for Kids.
He again asked personal questions, including whether she wore training bras, and referred to her as his "secret princess".
He discussed meeting at Morrisons in Heywood, but did not attend when arrangements were made.
Members of the paedophile hunters' group later confronted him on his estate, but he denied involvement.
The court highlighted that while there were no physical victims, Thompson had placed himself in a serious position.
His lawyer acknowledged his good character, noting he was a former soldier and police officer, but accepted the seriousness of his actions.
As part of his sentence, Thompson received 10 years of a sexual harm prevention order, life registration on the sex offenders' register, and inclusion on disbarring lists.
Judge Angela Nield expressed that the intent mattered, despite no physical children being involved, and called it "extremely sad" to see a man of his age and former good character in court for such offences.
