A 35-year-old police officer who tried to meet a teenager while carrying ‘s3x toys, c0ndoms, limb restraints, and bondage equipment’ has been sentenced to 32 months imprisonment.
Inspector Thomas Kettleborough had s3xually explicit conversations with what he thought was a 14-year-old boy he had met on Grindr and arranged to meet him in a car park in Bristol on July 14, 2023.
The Avon and Somerset officer was caught in a sting operation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit when he went to meet the child, Exeter Crown Court heard.
Nicholas Lewin, prosecuting, said Kettleborough used a false name, calling himself Liam on Grindr and Snapchat, and claimed to be 28.
Mr Lewin said: ‘Police officers attended on Mr Kettleborough and arrested him in relation to the conversation.
‘During the search of his vehicle, a yellow Aldi bag for life was located inside the boot containing an assortment of s3x toys, c0ndoms, and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints.’
After Kettleborough was arrested, police found he was in possession of more than 150 indecent images of children on his phone and computer.
In a statement prepared for the sentencing hearing, the mother of a victim said: ‘I now live every day in fear for my children’s safety and the guilt I feel as a parent that I couldn’t protect my child has eaten away at me.
‘But the reality is, it isn’t my son’s fault or anything I did or didn’t do as a parent. My son is a victim.
‘It has affected the whole family more than I can ever explain, but I am so proud that my son had the strength and courage to come forward.’
At an earlier hearing, Kettleborough pleaded guilty to charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child s3x offence, attempting to engage in s3xual communication with a child, and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in s3xual activity.
He also admitted one count of engaging in s3xual communication with a child and four counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.
Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes.
Mr Bremrdige said: ‘Since the point of his arrest in July of 2023, Mr. Kettleborough has done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did.
‘That process has been an incredibly long one, it is continuing, but that should not detract from the fact that he is genuinely sorry for what it is that he has done.’
Judge Stephen Climie said a combination of childhood trauma and his experiences as a police officer led to a decline in his mental health.
He said: ‘There is no criticism of the police themselves but unfortunately the inevitable, from time to time, is there are traumatic experiences that officers find themselves faced with.
‘Your mind diverted away from what is otherwise a very positive background and positive performance on the areas of employment I’ve described.
‘So too does the description from family members that makes it very clear to me that you were otherwise a decent member of society.
‘In the context of this case, it may be suggested that your employment as a police officer in some way, shape or form, aggravates the position.
‘In my judgment, that might have been the case had you been using your position as a serving police officer to incite the sexual activity, but you did not.
‘It is, of course, regrettable from society’s perspective that any serving police officer finds himself or herself before a court charged with a criminal offence, but it is not in my judgment an aggravating factor for the purposes of passing sentence.’
Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite s3xual harm prevention order and will be on the s£x offenders’ register for life.
After he was jailed, police shared the Snapchat username and avatar Kettleborough used to help identify any further victims of his offending.
Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said: ‘The serious s3xual offences against children that he’s been convicted of span a period of four years.
‘Thomas Kettleborough was in a position of trust at the time, both as a police officer and as a volunteer for the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, however he concealed his true identity through an online persona as “Liam”, “L S” and “Liamss5506”.
‘Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed.
‘Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so.’
Kettleborough was kicked out of the force by Avon and Somerset Police last month for gross misconduct and has been banned from the profession for life.
