'West Yorkshire Police cyber prevention officer called himself 'vile degrader' and accessed sadistic images of babies being sexually abused'

Jonathan Plummer is also accused of distributing indecent images of children and is alleged to have possessed images of animals being sexually abused.

Jurors heard Plummer, 33, was a serving police community support officer with West Yorkshire Police at the time of the alleged offending.

He was a member of a neighbourhood policing team in Wakefield and had a role as a "cyber prevention officer".

A trial at Leeds Crown Court heard Plummer accessed and distributed illegal images under the name 'vile degrader'

Lousie Reevell, prosecuting, said police received intelligence linking Plummer to an indecent image of a child in October 2017.

The officer was arrested and cautioned in August 2018 and his home on Bradford Road, Wakefield, was searched.

Electronic devices were seized from the property and sent for digital examination.

Ms Reevell said Plummer's mobile phone was analysed and found to contain indecent images of children and extreme pornographic images.

Much of the illegal activity had been conducted through a heavily-encrypted app.

Images depicted babies being tied up with rope

Sexual images featuring dogs were also found along with a graphic video of a woman being mutilated with a sword.

Ms Reevell said images were accessed and distributed under the username 'vile degrader'.

The jury was told that evidence was recovered which showed Plummer to have been in contact with a 16-year-old girl in Australia.

The prosecutor said Plummer and the teenager exchanged images and discussed a fantasy about rape.

The police expert found that Google Translate had been used to make search terms relating to indecent child images in Russian and Arabic.

Ms Reevell said Plummer denied any offending when he was interviewed.

She said: "He gave a possible technical explanation as to how the images got on his phone."

Jurors were told that the police expert disputed Plummer's explanation.

Ms Reevell said: "In this case the prosecution will invite you, the jury, to conclude that the defendant is 'vile degrader' and it is not just a series of bizarre coincidences.

"He likes child pornography and extreme pornography and the Crown say he has obtained it and distributed it."

Plummer, of Langdale Avenue, Outwood, Leeds, pleads not guilty to seven charges.

The charges are:

Count 1. Distributing indecent images of a child, between July 7, 2017 and August 14, 2018.

Count 2. Making indecent category A photographs of a child. - 339 still images and 133 moving images.

Count 3. Making indecent category B photographs of a child - 258 still images and 25 moving images.

Count 4. Making indecent category C photographs of a child - 1,250 still images and 42 moving images.

Count 5. Possessing prohibited images of a child - 248 still images and two moving images.

Counts 6 and 7. Possession of extreme pornographic images.

The trial continues.