A former Police Officer who viewed child sex images while serving as a constable in Kent Police has been spared jail.
Thomas Blant, 38, was arrested after the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered that he had accessed illegal material and tried to hide his activity.
The NCA called his offending an “outrageous misuse of trust”.
Investigators found 21 indecent images of children, including the most serious category, on Blant’s laptop and an old mobile phone at his home in Wye.
The NCA said he had attempted to conceal his activity and delete the images, using the Tor network – which allows anonymous browsing and access to the dark web – and a computer cleaning app.
A spokesperson said: “Blant was working as a constable for Kent Police at the time of his offending,”
“He was suspended from duty upon his initial arrest and has since been dismissed from the force.”
He pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court.
On Wednesday, a judge handed him a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years, meaning he will not be jailed unless he commits further offences or breaches conditions in that period.
He was also sentenced to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offender register for 10 years.
Martin Ludlow, of the NCA, said: “Blant’s offending is an outrageous misuse of trust.
“His role as a police officer was to protect the public. Instead, he sought out images of child abuse for his own sexual gratification. Offenders who view such material online only encourage those willing to sexually abuse children in the real world.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, the head of professional standards for Kent Police, called Blant’s crime “abhorrent”.
“His actions helped fuel the demand for children to be exploited which is a complete betrayal of his duty to protect the vulnerable,” he added.
“Blant was suspended from our force as soon as the allegations were first received and we fully supported our colleagues in the NCA with their criminal investigation. As soon as he admitted the offences in court, we progressed with special case proceedings which led to his dismissal on 17 August.
“The vast majority of our officers and staff do an outstanding job serving the public in line with the highest standards of professionalism and conduct, and we expect no less from them. Those who fall short will face scrutiny.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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