A FORMER Thames Valley Police officer has been jailed for child sex offences – the second time he has been given a custodial sentence.
Glenn Jones, who served as an inspector, was jailed on Tuesday, March 12, for arranging to meet a child with the intention of committing sexual offences.
The 56-year-old from Tutsham Way, Tonbridge, was sentenced to three years’ and six months imprisonment with a further three years on licence at Guildford Crown Court, after travelling to Sussex to abuse a young child on September 25 last year.
In 2015, he had been placed on sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. For this offence, he had been given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and jailed for eight months.
That trial revealed he had more than 3,000 child porn images on his computer with the oldest dating back to 2009, when he was a serving officer in the force.
At his most recent trial, the court heard how Jones had undertaken a 50-mile journey from his Kent home to a shopping centre in Shoreham to meet his victim. However, he was greeted by officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) upon his arrival and subsequently arrested.
A police investigation found that, between August 6 and September 26 last year the registered sex offender had spent significant time arranging the meeting.
Despite stating he never intended to undertake any abuse and was just ‘curious’, a jury unanimously found Jones guilty of the commission of an offence of sexual activity with a child, contrary to Section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Detective Inspector Emily Evans, who led the investigation, said: “Jones had travelled a significant distance from his home in Kent with the full intention of meeting a child to abuse them.
“It is clear that he has not learned from his previous conviction, and I am therefore pleased that he has been handed a custodial sentence reflective of his abhorrent intentions.
“Child abuse is one of the most repugnant crimes we deal with, and I’d like to reassure everyone that reports of this nature will always be investigated fully and sensitively, regardless of the current or past profession of the parties involved.”
