In a short statement, Greater Manchester Police has said that two of their serving officers have been charged with making or distributing an indecent image of a child.
Cameron Barker (aged 26) and James Williams (aged 39), both police constables in the force’s City of Manchester District, will appear on Thursday, 14th July, 2022 at Tameside Magistrates’ Court accused of an offence relates to an image that is alleged to have been exchanged between the pair in March, 2019.
Both officers have been suspended by GMP’s Professionals Standards Branch pending the outcome of criminal proceedings and any consequent misconduct hearing. They are understood to have been assisted in this investigation by specialist officers in GMP’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team.
This team was responsible for the investigation that led to the jailing, in January 2022, of former Salford District detective constable, Lee Cunliffe, over child sex offences and misconduct in public office. He was sentenced to eight years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court today after pleading guilty to one count of attempting to arrange/facilitate the commission of a child sex offence, three counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, one count of misconduct in a public office and one count of perverting the course of justice. Three other charges were ordered to lie on file.
Greater Manchester Victims’ Services provide emotional and practical support to anyone affected by crime and are a confidential service. The service can be contacted by visiting the website on http://www.gmvictims.org.uk or calling 0161 200 1950.
Greater Manchester is nationally recognised as a model of good practice in terms of support services available to victims.
Presumption of innocence must apply in the cases of PC Cameron Barker and PC James Williams. Comments for this article are, therefore, closed.
Page last updated Sunday 5th June, 2022 at 1250hrs
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Picture credit: GMP
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