A former social worker from West Sussex has been convicted of abusing his position to engage in sexual communications with vulnerable children. Thomas Weller, 33, from horsham/" title="Horsham" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-wpil-monitor-id="44634">Horsham, was identified after an investigation was launched on 3 March when explicit messages were discovered on a vulnerable teenage girl’s Snapchat account. The messages, sent by Weller, were sexual in nature and persisted even after the girl disclosed she was a child. Weller also offered to buy her alcohol in exchange for sexual acts.
[block_2]The investigation revealed Weller had misused his position to access personal data. He was arrested on 24 March, and further sexual communications with another teenage girl were found on his Snapchat account. Weller was subsequently charged with two counts of sexual communication with a child and misconduct in public office.
Sussex Police are continuing to investigate whether Weller may have abused other victims. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the police online or via 101, quoting serial 297 of 31/07.
