A former Metropolitan Police officer, Benedict Ashton, 38, of College Road, Bromley, has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work after being convicted of possessing indecent images of children. Ashton, a Special Constable at the time of his arrest, was apprehended in August 2022 following a referral from the National Crime Agency.
Ashton’s case was triggered after a Twitter user, claiming to be a 13-year-old boy, requested images of children be sent to him. Investigations traced the account, associated email address, and IP address back to Ashton. When questioned by authorities, Ashton admitted to possessing the indecent images.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Ashton’s misconduct hearing took place on January 30 last year, with the outcome concluding that he would have been dismissed had he still been serving as an officer. Ashton has since been added to the College of Policing’s barred list, preventing him from serving in law enforcement in the future.
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The misconduct hearing’s outcome notice was not published at the time to avoid prejudicing ongoing criminal proceedings, the Met Police spokesperson explained.
