A FORMER West Midlands Police officer from Coventry who downloaded indecent images and videos of children from the internet has been jailed for 15 months
Jonathan McNeill, 55, has been convicted of the offence of making indecent images of children.
Investigators traced the images back to McNeill, and he was arrested last June at his Coventry home on Lavender Avenue.
Officers searched his home and recovered computer equipment.
McNeill, who worked in Force Contact in Coventry at the time, took early retirement from the force in December.
In all, police recovered 497 still and moving images from McNeill’s phone and computer devices.
He admitted three charges of making indecent images of children by downloading them from the internet and storing them.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court he was handed his prison sentence and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Detective Helen Henry from the forces Public Protection Unit said: “As a police officer, McNeill knew the devastating effect child abuse has in our society.
“Anyone who downloads such images contributes to the abuse of children around the world and will be dealt with robustly.”
