Record details
A former Metropolitan Police officer has avoided jail after admitting to sending sexual messages to a 15-year-old boy. PC Will Scott-Barrett, 33, was handed a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, at Isleworth Crown Court.
The court previously heard that he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual communication with a child on or before February 3 last year. An earlier hearing was told he was in contact with the youngster using the Snapchat and Discord social media apps from April 2020.
Scott-Barrett, of Bromley, South East London, sent messages including graphic sexual pictures and videos to the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The officer was off-duty at the time of his offending, which is not said to have been connected with his role in the force. He has since resigned from his post.
A spokeswoman from the Metropolitan Police said a misconduct hearing found that if Scott-Barrett had not resigned he would have been dismissed. During sentencing, Judge Robin Johnson said: “This is undoubtedly a sad case. Sad for you, in that you lost your job and your good character, but also sad, troubling and worrying for the family (of the victim).
My sympathies are with the victim and his family rather than you. This kind of offending harms children, that is self-evident. The harm done to the victim is incalculable. You were previously of good character, you were a serving police officer at the time. I have accepted that you expressed genuine remorse and are taking steps to assess your offending.”
