A former detective working for a police force’s professional standards department has been unmasked as a child porn offender.
Michael Vause, 59, resigned after admitting 10 charges relating to the making of 563 indecent images of children following his arrest.
Yesterday (July 5) at Huddersfield Crown Court, Vause was handed a three-year community order by District Judge Marie Mallon, who told him: “As a police officer and civilian, I really don’t need to tell you how serious these offences are. I do not accept there is such a thing as ‘kiddie porn’.
“These are images of children being sexually abused.”
Vause, who lives in Pontefract, was previously commended for outstanding work as a detective based at Pontefract CID as a result of his conduct during an investigation during 2002, when he was still an officer.
He was later moved to the professional standards department, responsible for assessing public complaints and investigating misconduct in the force. He retired as a serving officer after more than 30 years service then returning to the same department as a civilian investigator.
Roger Clapham, for Vause, said that when interviewed by the police, Vause was so ashamed he was unable to speak, so he wrote down what he had done.
Mr Clapham said: “He wrote expressing his remorse.
“He has been through various traumas, but he has got himself involved with MIND to try and sort himself. He has suffered because of this and the position he used to hold.”
Ms Mallon ordered Vause, who had one Level Three image and 562 Level One images, to complete 60 sessions at a Sex Offenders Group, and ordered the forfeit and destruction of the images. She also placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and ordered him to pay £85 pounds in costs.