A woman has admitted to taking indecent images of her own child in Gloucestershire and then sending them to her paedophile lover. The man, who lives in another county, was trapped and arrested after he was caught talking to what he believed was a child online. It was in-fact an undercover police officer.
His electronic devices were seized and indecent images of a child were found on examination. Investigative work then established the images were taken in Gloucestershire and the woman, who Gloucestershire Police has not identified for legal reasons, was later arrested. Her child has been taken away from her for safeguarding and the woman now awaits sentencing for her crime.
Data from her phone showed she knew the man she had been having an affair with had a criminal history and she knew about the nature and severity of his offending and that he might pose a risk to children. Following an investigation, the woman was charged with taking and distributing category C indecent images of her own child.
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She is due to be sentenced at a later date and is on court bail with conditions to have no unsupervised contact with anyone aged under 18. The man, who had 17 previous convictions, admitted to sexual communication with a child and possession of indecent images of children.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Amy Greenway said: "We've only not named the woman because we are protecting the victim, but we wanted to publicise this case to show the behind the scenes work which goes on to help protect children.
"The home is meant to be a safe place for a child, but we sadly know that this is not always the case, and that people instead prey on those who are most vulnerable.
"It is even more awful when that is done by someone who is meant to protect them, and should be a trusted adult. Unfortunately her motives are unclear as she refused to answer any questions posed to her during interview. However, there would be no excuse for this despicable behaviour and we are pleased that this child is now safeguarded.
"Our team are dedicated to arresting those who pose a risk to children and putting them before the court. We hope the court outcome reflects the awful trauma and risk this mother exposed her child to."
