An RAF police officer has been jailed for six months for downloading child porn
on his home computer.
Steven Hope, 24, was stationed at RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire when civilian police seized his computer on 13 July last year.
Hope, now of Clay Crescent, Shanks Pottery, Kilmarnock, will be dismissed from the RAF, Luton Crown Court was told on Friday.
Judge Joseph Gosschalk said the images seized included about seven minutes of video footage of a girl aged about eight engaged in sexual acts with a man.
Hope, whose wife is expecting their first child, pleaded guilty to three charges of making an indecent photograph of a child.
'Career in ruins'
John Kirkpatrick, defending said Hope had an interest in adult porn but "no interest in children".
He said the material had been downloaded as a small part of larger folder of adult porn.
Normally when that happened Hope would delete it, but on this occasion had omitted to do so, said Mr Kirkpatrick.
"He was highly thought of in the RAF both as a police officer and a boxing instructor," said Mr Kirkpatrick.
"He had a really excellent career ahead of him which came to a halt with his arrest last year."
Judge Gosschalk told him: "I bear in mind the effect on your career which is clearly in ruins."