PC Marie Thompson, a South Yorkshire police officer, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for blackmailing a suspect she had arrested in an indecent images case. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty in September to blackmail and perverting the course of justice, with Leeds Crown Court handing down the sentence on Thursday.
The court heard that Thompson used a fake email address to contact the man, posing as a member of a group called 'Paedophile Hunters'. She demanded a £3,500 payment to 'ensure that information remains between you and us'. The man, who had been arrested in October 2022 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, was released under investigation before receiving the threatening emails.
Thompson's actions were driven by a 'severe gambling disorder' that had led to 'considerable debts', according to pre-sentencing mitigation. After the man's partner received a text message demanding a reply, the couple contacted police. Thompson, who was leading the investigation, told the man she would look into the matter but instead falsified records, including her notebook entries, to cover her tracks.
The plot unravelled when Thompson left her team in 2023 and her caseload was transferred to another officer. The new officer discovered that Thompson had not properly investigated the blackmail and found that the phone number used to threaten the man's partner matched Thompson's own number from her police vetting form. She was subsequently arrested and charged.
