Ex-North Yorkshire Police staff member jailed for possessing and distributing indecent images of children and voyeurism

Bradley Paul Smith, 36, from York, worked as a safety camera van operator with the force until he was arrested on February 6 2019 and suspended from duty.

His employment with the force has since been terminated.

Smith's arrest stemmed from information supplied to North Yorkshire Police by the National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection command (CEOP).

North Yorkshire Police’s online abuse & exploitation team conducted an investigation which included numerous smart phones, tablets and laptops being forensically examined to secure evidence.

A collection of over 3,500 indecent images of children, going back to 2011, were recovered including those classified in the most extreme Category A, as well as Category B and C offences.

Detective Sergeant Lee Allenby, of the online abuse & exploitation team, said: “A very concerning aspect of the investigation is that Smith, while still on police duties and on the same day of his arrest, had uploaded two Category A indecent images of children on his personal tablet device.

“This showed how deeply he was embroiled in this depraved and secretive world. However, there is no evidence or suggestion that offences were committed using police equipment.

“This case shows that North Yorkshire Police is determined and equipped to secure justice in such a complex investigation. Also that we operate without fear or favour even when the suspect works for the same police force.”

The investigation team also recovered numerous videos taken from inside the men’s changing room at a local gym, a video of a teenager getting changed inside a bedroom and a child asleep on a bed.

Officers were able to prove that Smith had filmed these particular videos himself.

Following the investigation, in December of last year, Smith was charged with two counts of distribution of indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of taking an indecent image of a child, and eight counts of voyeurism.

He appeared at York Magistrates’ Court on January 14 2020 and the case was committed to York Crown Court on February 10 where Smith pleaded guilty to the following offences:

- Distributing indecent photos – namely two indecent videos – of a child in the most extreme Category A

- Distributing five indecent images of a child in Category C

- Making 490 indecent photographs of children in Category A, consisting of 247 images and 243 movies

- Making 528 indecent photographs of children in Category B, consisting of 342 images and 186 movies

- Making 2,643 photographs in Category C, consisting of 2,608 images and 35 movies

- Taking an indecent photograph of a child in York

- Eight counts of voyeurism

Smith was released on bail ahead of sentencing at York Crown Court yesterday (March 2) where alongside being jailed for four years he was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

DS Allenby added: “When the evidence of his offending was presented to him during the investigation, Bradley Smith initially claimed he was only interested in adult pornography and that the indecent images of children were downloaded accidentally.

“However, we were able to prove beyond doubt that he is a serious offender and it is pleasing that he admitted his guilt at court. He is now facing up to the consequences of his sickening actions.”