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Child sex officer gets 18 months Detective jailed for sex grooming
(about 1 hour later)
A Flying Squad detective who tried to groom a schoolgirl for sex over the internet has been jailed for 18 months at London's Southwark Crown Court. A highly-decorated Flying Squad detective who tried to groom a schoolgirl for sex over the internet has been jailed for 18 months.
Det Con Glenn Algar, 45, was "sexually and emotionally obsessed" with having sex with children, bombarding one girl with lurid emails and text messages. Det Con Glenn Algar, 45, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, thought he was sending emails to the girl.
The supposed 12-year-old was in fact a colleague working undercover. But he was sending the lurid messages to a colleague working under cover.
Algar, of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, had pleaded guilty to internet grooming offences at a hearing in January. Algar had also admitted possessing child pornography. The Southwark Crown Court judge ordered him to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Algar, a married father-of-two, admitted one charge of attempting to persuade an underage child to engage in sexual activity and 10 counts of trying to incite a child to view indecent material. Algar is now banned him from working with children for life.
'Highly decorated' The married father-of-two resigned before appearing in court on Thursday.
He also admitted six counts of making and possessing indecent images of children. Repeatedly commended
He had pleaded guilty to internet grooming offences and six counts of making and possessing indecent images, at a hearing in January.
People like you who make use of such images encourage others to make them in the first place Judge Christopher Hardy
Algar had been based on Finchley, north London.
"This is a highly decorated police officer who, after 26 years of service to the public, had found himself repeatedly commended by his senior officers," prosecutor Peter Zinner told the court on Thursday."This is a highly decorated police officer who, after 26 years of service to the public, had found himself repeatedly commended by his senior officers," prosecutor Peter Zinner told the court on Thursday.
The barrister called Algar's arrest at Colindale police station last year a "rather spectacular fall from grace". Judge Christopher Hardy told Algar the images found in his possession justified a prison term.
The court heard police found a cache of hardcore child pornography in Algar's home. "You made use of those images and your making use of them and people like you who make use of such images encourages others to make them in the first place," he said.
Some of the pictures were graded level five, the most severe grading given by police to an indecent image. Computer ban
The judge accepted the officer represented a "low risk" of similar re-offending in the future.
Algar is likely to be released in just over five months once time spent on remand is taken into account.
He will be subject to an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order prohibiting the use of a computer to contact children.
Defence counsel Graham Arran, told the court his client was "genuinely remorseful" for his behaviour.