An 18-month community order was imposed on a former police officer who pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

Christopher Douglas Groom, 41, of Claxton, Malton, was dealt with yesterday at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

Between 3 December 2014 and 14 November 2021, the ex-Hambleton and Richmond response officer admitted to taking 8,707 Category C indecent photographs of children.

Category C includes less serious indecent images of children, whereas Categories B and A are more serious offences.

The defendant, who has been on the Register of Sex Offenders for five years, subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, must complete 30 rehabilitation days with Safer Lives, and do 150 hours of unpaid work, has been suspended from duty since his arrest on December 16, 2021.

The Chief Constable and the Professional Standards Department will now consider an Accelerated Misconduct Hearing (AMH).

Groom resigned just days before his first court appearance on May 18.

North Yorkshire Police expects the highest level of integrity from our officers and staff,” said Deputy Chief Constable Mabs Hussain.

This is critical to ensuring that the communities we are proud to serve have complete trust in their police service. Groom’s heinous and criminal actions have betrayed that public trust, and he has betrayed North Yorkshire Police.

“From our investigation, including an extensive digital forensic examination of devices used exclusively by the defendant, we were able to establish beyond any doubt that Christopher Douglas Groom actively sought out and viewed a significant number of child sexual abuse images,” said Detective Sergeant Steve Alderson of the Online Abuse and Exploitation Team.

“We were able to recover 8,707 Category C indecent photographs of children taken between December 2014 and November 2021.” “No other offences were identified during the investigation, and all safeguarding efforts were made to mitigate potential risks to young people.”

The fact that Groom was a serving North Yorkshire Police officer made no difference to how we conducted the investigation,” DS Alderson added.

He received the same treatment as any other member of the public who became the subject of a criminal investigation and court proceedings.

“This case demonstrates North Yorkshire Police’s determination to bring those responsible for indecent images of children to justice, regardless of who they are.”