A Greater Manchester Police officer who sent sexual messages to people he believed were children has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Michael Aspinall, 35, from Salford, was caught messaging undercover police officers who he thought were kids online.
Detectives from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit arrested Aspinall in October 2024. He was immediately suspended from duty by GMP and later charged. Following a trial in July, he was found guilty of three counts of attempting sexual communication with a child.
Misconduct hearing and resignation
Aspinall resigned as a GMP officer before an accelerated misconduct hearing held by the force last week. The hearing concluded that had he still been serving, he would have been dismissed without notice. He was also added to the College of Policing's barred list.
Appearing at Preston Crown Court on September 14, Aspinall was given an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years. He will also be on the sex offender's register for 10 years, is subject to a five-year serious crime prevention order, and must complete 20 days of rehabilitation.
Pension forfeiture application
An application to request the forfeiture of Aspinall's police pension has been made to Kate Green, deputy mayor of Greater Manchester.
Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Humphreys, from GMP's Professional Standards Directorate, said: “Aspinall’s offending was clearly unacceptable for any right-minded member of society and particularly inappropriate for a serving police officer. His actions put the whole police service under scrutiny, but thanks to the hard work and diligence of undercover officers, he was arrested, found guilty, and has now received his punishment.”
He added: “A misconduct panel by GMP found that he would have been dismissed had he still been serving - his actions take away from the hard work of the men and women who work so hard for their communities every day, and it is only right that anyone committing these sort of offences are rooted out.”
