Crime
Cambridgeshire detective admits downloading indecent images of children
A Cambridgeshire detective who downloaded indecent images of children, images of victims in voyeurism cases and accessed confidential files, has been jailed for four years.
James Jordan, who was sacked as a police officer two weeks ago, pleaded guilty to a range of charges when he appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday.
Jordan, 32, who was a detective constable based at Thorpe Wood Police Station, was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Jordan pleaded guilty to five counts of possession/making indecent images of a child which included 62 category A images.
Ten of the indecent images were from the mobile phone of one of his victims a 13-year-old vulnerable child.
Jordan also pleaded guilty to three counts of misconduct in a public office.
Deputy Chief Constable Jane Gyford said: “We expect our officers to uphold the highest standards of behaviour at all times.
“We continue to be relentless in identifying and rooting out anyone who breaches those expectations and continue to invest heavily in developing our culture.
“Jordan’s actions have undermined the very essence of policing’s core values in protecting the public, especially children and vulnerable people, and helping those in need.
“We expect our workforce to call out concerns about colleagues at an early stage, particularly in relation to any form of violence against women and girls, which remains a priority for us. In this case Jordan was in custody within 24 hours of a concern being raised.
“Accessing indecent images is not a victimless crime. The images depict the worst possible forms of child abuse and those who access them create a market for further images to be produced.
“We encourage anyone who suspects abuse to report it and they can have the confidence that we will act on it.”
Jordan was dismissed from Cambridgeshire Constabulary following a misconduct hearing on 30 January.
That hearing had heard that whilst on duty on August 17 last year, Jordan accessed confidential police systems “with no policing purpose”.
Jordan “downloaded indecent images of children, images of victims in voyeurism cases and accessed confidential files within other units across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire”.
The hearing was told that following his arrest, Jordan’s home was searched, and various digital items were seized and examined.
“Examination of the devices revealed that Jordan has accessed systems whilst at work and downloaded confidential material for several months,” said the misconduct charge sheet.
Jordan was interviewed on two occasions.
“On the second occasion he made admissions to accessing confidential police systems and downloading sexualised images of victims linked to voyeurism investigations for his own sexual gratification,” says Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
“Jordan also made admission to downloading indecent images of children but denied a sexual interest in children.
“Ten of the indecent images are from the mobile phone of one of his victims a 13-year-old vulnerable child.”
