Former Met PC convicted of child sexual offences after sending images to undercover officer

A former Met police officer has been convicted after sending sexually explicit images to an undercover officer he believed was a 12-year-old girl.

Thomas Thorpe, who was attached to the South Area Command Unit, was found guilty of six sexual offences at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday.

The former officer was convicted for three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child as well as attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He was also found guilty of attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and to look at an image of sexual activity.

The court heard how Thorpe engaged in online conversations with a West Midlands Police officer he believed was a 12-year-old girl.

He sent sexually explicit images to the “girl” over a four-week period in November and December 2019.

The officer was suspended from duty following his arrest in December 2019. He resigned from the Met in September 2022.

A hearing concluded in May 2023 that had PC Thorpe had still been a serving Met officer he would have been dismissed without notice.

A search of digital devices recovered from his address revealed indecent images of children.

The devices also contained the images that he had sent to the undercover officer.

Following the court hearing on Thursday he was remanded in custody to be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on May 14.

Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, local policing commander in south London, said: “People rightly expect police officers to uphold the highest standards and when an officer fails to meet those standards they can expect to face the consequences of their actions through the courts and our own misconduct process.

"Former PC Thorpe’s behaviour was abhorrent and he has been convicted of serious sexual offences. Prior to his conviction misconduct proceedings established that he would have been sacked had he not already left the organisation.”