A South Yorkshire Police Special Constable who sent sexually explicit images to three women was sentenced last week to a two-year community order at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
Faran Hanson, 26, (pictured above) was a Special Constable with the force when, in May 2021, a woman came forward to police to report that she had received an explicit image via Snapchat.
An investigation was launched, and the sender of the image was identified as Hanson. He was arrested and immediately suspended from duty.
Enquiries subsequently identified more victims, who had received offensive and indecent images from Hanson over social networking sites. Pictures of his genitals were sent to three women, two of whom were trainee officers under his supervision, as part of his role training new recruits.
The court heard that, prior to Hanson joining SYP, he had been disciplined by a former employer for what the Crown Prosecution Service described as ‘similar behaviour’.
In response to a question over Hanson’s vetting, before being given a position with the force, a SYP spokesperson said:“Hanson was subject to vetting, as any prospective employee is when joining SYP. As a Special Constable, Hanson will have had other employment running alongside his duties in SYP, as they are unpaid volunteers.”
Detective Superintendent Delphine Waring, Head of the force’s Professional Standards Department, said: “Upon receiving a report that sexually inappropriate and explicit images had been shared by a serving Special Constable, we acted quickly to arrest Hanson and seize his devices.
“Hanson’s behaviour is appalling and falls far, far below that which we expect of any officer or staff member. He refused to accept responsibility for his crimes, meaning this matter had to go to trial and I am pleased that he was convicted based on the wealth of evidence put before the court.
“This was thanks in no small part to the testimony of the women Hanson targeted with his communications. I commend the victims for supporting our investigation and bravely giving evidence in court about what happened.”
Hanson was found guilty of three offences contrary to Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, namely using a public electronic communications network to send a message that is grossly offensive or indecent. This followed a trial held at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
Hanson was sentenced to a two-year community order, 60 days of rehabilitation activity requirements, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay costs. He was also served restraining orders for each of his victims.
Following the conclusion of the court case, accelerated misconduct proceedings are underway, and Hanson remains suspended from duty.
Page last updated Tuesday 30th August, 2022 at 1625hrs
Thank you for reading and a polite request: If you wish to make a contribution to the running costs of this website it would be very much appreciated. Donations can made securely, via PayPal at this link.
Corrections: Please let me know if there is a mistake in this article. I will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible.
Picture credits: SYP
Right of reply: If you are mentioned in this article and disagree with it, please let me have your comments. Provided your response is not defamatory it will be added to the article.
© Neil Wilby 2015-2022. Unauthorised use, or reproduction, of the material contained in this article, without permission from the author, is strictly prohibited. Extracts from, and links to, the article (or blog) may be used, provided that credit is given to Neil Wilby Media, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Neil Wilby Media 