Soham policemen on child porn charges

A police officer who supported the family of the murdered schoolgirl Jessica Chapman will appear in court this morning on charges relating to the possession of child pornography.

Detective Constable Brian Stevens, 41, formed a close bond with the Chapmans when he was assigned to them as a family liaison officer after the disappearance of Jessica from Soham, Cambridgeshire. The family had asked him to read a poem at the memorial service for Jessica and her friend Holly Wells at Ely Cathedral.

He is due to appear before magistrates in Bury St Edmunds this morning on charges relating to the possession of indecent images of children.

PC Antony Goodridge, 34, an exhibits officer who also worked on the investigation into the murders, will appear in court on similar charges.

Computers have been taken from both officers' homes and they have been suspended from duty by Cambridgeshire police. DC Stevens had previously spoken to journalists about the way the family had been coping with the murders during the past five weeks. On Tuesday, he was among a number of police officers who attended a court hearing in Peterborough for Ian Huntley, the former school caretaker who is charged with the girls' murders.

The allegations have no connection to the inquiry into the murder of Holly and Jessica. Both officers were arrested by West Midlands Police officers as part of a global inquiry into child pornography.