Former police officer who downloaded indecent images of children avoids immediate jailing
A former police officer who downloaded indecent images of children has been given a suspended jail sentence by a judge who warned him to "never do anything like this again".
Kurt Haydon, 38, was suspended as a West Midlands Police constable in May 2021 and subsequently resigned after being charged by Staffordshire Police with three counts of making indecent images of children.
Police had executed a search warrant at a house linked to Haydon in January 2019 and two devices were seized, including a laptop.
Appearing at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday after being found guilty by a jury on June 20, Haydon was handed an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years, by Recorder Julian Taylor.
Prosecutor Daniel Wright told the court Haydon, from Hayfield Hill, Rugeley, had downloaded a number of obscene images, both moving and still, of children between the ages of nine and 12 that fell into categories C, B and the most extreme, A.
