Paedophile former police officer spared jail over child sex abuse images

Thomas Blant was serving as a constable in Kent Police when he committed the offences

Thomas Blant was a serving Kent Police officer when he committed the offences (NCA)

A former police officer who viewed child sex abuse images while serving as a constable in Kent has been spared jail.

Thomas Blant, 38, was arrested after the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered that he had accessed illegal material and tried to hide his activity.

The NCA called his offending an “outrageous misuse of trust”, as the Sarah Everard murder drives scrutiny of police vetting and monitoring processes.

Investigators found 21 indecent images of children, including the most serious category, on Blant’s laptop and an old mobile phone at his home in Wye.

The NCA said he had attempted to conceal his activity and delete the images, using the Tor network - which allows anonymous browsing and access to the dark web - and a computer cleaning app.

“Blant was working as a constable for Kent Police at the time of his offending,” a spokesperson added. “He was suspended from duty upon his initial arrest and has since been dismissed from the force.”

He pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court.

On Wednesday, a judge handed him a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years, meaning he will not be jailed unless he commits further offences or breaches conditions in that period.

He was also sentenced to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the sex offender register for 10 years.

Martin Ludlow, of the NCA, said: “Blant’s offending is an outrageous misuse of trust.

“His role as a police officer was to protect the public. Instead, he sought out images of child abuse for his own sexual gratification. Offenders who view such material online only encourage those willing to sexually abuse children in the real world.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, the head of professional standards for Kent Police, called Blant’s crime “abhorrent”.

“His actions helped fuel the demand for children to be exploited which is a complete betrayal of his duty to protect the vulnerable,” he added.

”Blant was suspended from our force as soon as the allegations were first received and we fully supported our colleagues in the NCA with their criminal investigation. As soon as he admitted the offences in court, we progressed with special case proceedings which led to his dismissal on 17 August.

“The vast majority of our officers and staff do an outstanding job serving the public in line with the highest standards of professionalism and conduct, and we expect no less from them. Those who fall short will face scrutiny.”

Kent Police did not answer questions from The Independent on how Blant passed vetting processes and how his behaviour was not identified internally, before the NCA investigation.

The force is currently under investigation by the police watchdog for its handling of an indecent exposure incident involving Wayne Couzens before he murdered Sarah Everard.

Kent Police took no further action following a report in 2015 of a man, now known to be Couzens, driving naked from the waist down.

Couzens was not identified as a suspect, but checks on the vehicle used could have established that he was its owner.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was looking at whether “policies and procedures were followed”, and how the response may have affected Couzens’ ability to remain a police officer and transfer to the Metropolitan Police from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in 2018.