A POLICEMAN who used a secret camera to film a video up the skirt of a teenage girl has been jailed for 14 months.
The married officer then used a plastic bag with a hole in it to secretly film his young victim, occasionally moving in close to swing the bag under her skirt.
The 35-year-old, who has been suspended from his position with the Greater Manchester Police, initially denied he had done anything wrong.
He said: “Listen, I wouldn’t do anything so stupid, I’m a cop on E Division.”
Preston Crown court heard how the policeman also took advantage of an incident involving a serious sexual attack of a young woman to secretly film her flatmate.
The uniformed officer engaged in “chit-chat” with the victim’s friend while crime scene investigators looked for evidence, before taking out his cameraphone and secretly filming her thighs as he ccontinued the conversation.
Thompson’s 17-year-old victim later told his former colleagues: “If you can’t trust a police officer, who can you trust?”
Passing sentence, Judge Mark Brown said: “You not only have let yourself down, you have let the police service down as well.
“Hardly surprising that this sort of conduct should undermine so significantly the confidence people have in police officers.
“I have come to the conclusion I would be failing in my public duty if I did not impose upon you an immediate sentence of imprisonment.”
His wife, family and colleagues were said to be “staggered” at his behaviour, calling him an otherwise “dedicated” policeman.
