A Bramley PCSO has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to exchanging Crystal Meth for indecent images and movies of children.
James Wicks, 35, of Kirby Drive, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court yesterday for six counts of possessing indecent images of a child, one of distributing indecent images of a child, and one for the supply of a class A drug.
The court heard that Wicks, who worked for Thames Valley Police (TVP) as a PCSO in the Reading area, would take Crystal Meth with him to a friend’s house.
He would then exchange this in exchange for indecent movies of children, which he put on a memory stick and took away with him.
A total of 39 movies were found by police on a memory stick, as well as 24 images on an Apple Mac computer.
Three of these movies, which depicted sexual abuse of children, were then shared through Skype.
The offences took place between August 25, 2013 and June 10, 2015.
John Montague, senior district crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wessex, said: “This case is simply shocking and disturbing.
“The movies found in the possession of James Wicks can be described as some of the worst type classified as category A seen by experienced officers in the child abuse team.
“The fact that Wicks is a PCSO for TVP and had in his possession these movies and images is even more alarming – his duty was to care for the community, not to pose a serious risk.”
Wicks was arrested by TVP on June 10, 2015 and suspended while the investigation took place, with him resigning on October 5. He was charged 10 days later.
John Campbell, Deputy Chief Constable of TVP, said: “The actions of former PCSO James Wicks are absolutely reprehensible.
“The harm the possession and distribution of these images will have caused their victims will be lasting and cannot be measured.
“Drugs also cause communities and users untold devastation and Wicks’ actions are completely contrary to what those in our force work to prevent.
“There is no place at all for those who commit such crimes as these within our force.”
Wicks has also been put on the sex offender register for 10 years, and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order after his release.