AN man from Hallsham has been convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child online.
Following a three-day trial from Monday 18 December at Guildford Crown Court, Damien Gibbons, formerly known as Damien Cotgreave, 48, of High Street, Hailsham, was found guilty of attempted online sexual communication with a child.
At the time of his arrest in February 2020 for this offence, he was a Sussex Police officer.
He was later charged with the offence in the name of Cotgreave in April 2021.
He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which severely restricts his access to children and computers.
The prosecution, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, followed an investigation by the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) of Sussex Police which began when information was received from a member of the public in February 2020.
POLIT crime investigator Michelle Shepherd said: “Cotgreave thought he was talking to a 13-year old girl, and engaged in very explicit sexual conversation, but he was in fact talking to an adult member of the public who reported their concerns to the police, and we immediately took action to arrest him and ensure no actual child could come to harm.
“We will always take action on such reports and anyone who has suspicions about this type of activity should contact the police immediately.”
At the time of his arrest in February 2020, Cotgreave was a Detective Constable in Sussex Police but was suspended when he was arrested. At a separate public misconduct hearing in January 2021, he was found to have committed multiple breaches of professional standards, on evidence separate to this current prosecution, and he would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned.
As a result of this finding, he has been placed on the College of Policing Barred and Advisory list which will prevent his re-entry into law enforcement. The internal disciplinary investigation culminating in the misconduct hearing, resulted from information that came to light during this criminal investigation by POLIT.
Deputy Chief Constable David McLaren said: “The behaviour of this officer was appalling and inexcusable and a violation of the trust that the public put in the police to serve and protect them.
“We are committed to tackling criminal, misconduct and inappropriate behaviour within policing. Criminal behaviour, misconduct and misogyny have no place in Sussex Police and we will continue our journey to root this out.”
