A former police sergeant has been jailed for 10 months for selling information to the Sun and attempting to sell a story to the now defunct News of the World about the celebrity Katie Price.
During sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday Mr Justice Fulford told James Bowes, a former Sussex police officer, he had "corroded public confidence in the police force" and abused his position for what were essentially corrupt purposes.
Bowes, who worked in Brighton, had pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office last month after admitting contacting the News of the World and the Sun between April and July 2010.
The court heard he was paid for just one story, but Fulford said his decision to put private details of incidents into the public domain in relation to two children – Katie Price's daughter Princess Tiana, and a three-year-boy who was bitten by a fox in a Brighton school – was "a particular notable aspect of this offence".
The first incident took place in April 2010, when Bowes emailed a story to the Sunday tabloid about Price just after she had separated from her former husband, Peter Andre.
The court heard how a child protection team had been asked to intervene after Price and Andre's daughter had been injured. No crime had taken place and the girl's injuries were consistent with those normally associated with childhood, but Bowes had discovered the intervention from checking the police log.
He tried to sell the story to the News of the World. The paper had its own sources about Price and Andre's separation and did not pay him.
Bowes next contacted the Sun and received £500 for passing on details of a three-year-old boy who had been bitten by a fox at a birthday party at school premises in Brighton. He also passed on the details of the man who had hired the venue for the party.
On a third occasion he tipped off the Sun about a search the police were about to make in the home of the convicted serial murderer Peter Tobin, after a clairvoyant phoned investigators to say she had dreamed of more bodies beneath the floor.
Bowes was charged by officers from Operation Elveden, the Met's investigation into police corruption. He is the fourth police officer to be convicted of passing information to a newspaper.
Bowes had no previous convictions and was dismissed on 14 September 2012, for gross misconduct following his arrest.
Mark Bryant Heron, for the Crown, told how Bowes had "panicked" when the clairvoyant, who had contacted the police regarding Tobin, complained that someone had leaked information about her call to the Sun and he then stopped contact with the paper.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Former police sergeant jailed after selling information to the Sun
James Bowes also tried to sell story about Katie Price's daughter to the News of the World
A former police sergeant has been jailed for 10 months for selling information to the Sun and attempting to sell a story to the now defunct News of the World about the celebrity Katie Price.
During sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday Mr Justice Fulford told James Bowes, a former Sussex police officer, he had "corroded public confidence in the police force" and abused his position for what were essentially corrupt purposes.
Bowes, who worked in Brighton, had pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office last month after admitting contacting the News of the World and the Sun between April and July 2010.
The court heard he was paid for just one story, but Fulford said his decision to put private details of incidents into the public domain in relation to two children – Katie Price's daughter Princess Tiana, and a three-year-boy who was bitten by a fox in a Brighton school – was "a particular notable aspect of this offence".
The first incident took place in April 2010, when Bowes emailed a story to the Sunday tabloid about Price just after she had separated from her former husband, Peter Andre.
The court heard how a child protection team had been asked to intervene after Price and Andre's daughter had been injured. No crime had taken place and the girl's injuries were consistent with those normally associated with childhood, but Bowes had discovered the intervention from checking the police log.
He tried to sell the story to the News of the World. The paper had its own sources about Price and Andre's separation and did not pay him.
Bowes next contacted the Sun and received £500 for passing on details of a three-year-old boy who had been bitten by a fox at a birthday party at school premises in Brighton. He also passed on the details of the man who had hired the venue for the party.
On a third occasion he tipped off the Sun about a search the police were about to make in the home of the convicted serial murderer Peter Tobin, after a clairvoyant phoned investigators to say she had dreamed of more bodies beneath the floor.
Bowes was charged by officers from Operation Elveden, the Met's investigation into police corruption. He is the fourth police officer to be convicted of passing information to a newspaper.
Bowes had no previous convictions and was dismissed on 14 September 2012, for gross misconduct following his arrest.
Mark Bryant Heron, for the Crown, told how Bowes had "panicked" when the clairvoyant, who had contacted the police regarding Tobin, complained that someone had leaked information about her call to the Sun and he then stopped contact with the paper.
A former police sergeant has been jailed for 10 months for selling information to the Sun and attempting to sell a story to the now defunct News of the World about the celebrity Katie Price.
During sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday Mr Justice Fulford told James Bowes, a former Sussex police officer, he had "corroded public confidence in the police force" and abused his position for what were essentially corrupt purposes.
Bowes, who worked in Brighton, had pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office last month after admitting contacting the News of the World and the Sun between April and July 2010.
The court heard he was paid for just one story, but Fulford said his decision to put private details of incidents into the public domain in relation to two children – Katie Price's daughter Princess Tiana, and a three-year-boy who was bitten by a fox in a Brighton school – was "a particular notable aspect of this offence".
The first incident took place in April 2010, when Bowes emailed a story to the Sunday tabloid about Price just after she had separated from her former husband, Peter Andre.
The court heard how a child protection team had been asked to intervene after Price and Andre's daughter had been injured. No crime had taken place and the girl's injuries were consistent with those normally associated with childhood, but Bowes had discovered the intervention from checking the police log.
He tried to sell the story to the News of the World. The paper had its own sources about Price and Andre's separation and did not pay him.
Bowes next contacted the Sun and received £500 for passing on details of a three-year-old boy who had been bitten by a fox at a birthday party at school premises in Brighton. He also passed on the details of the man who had hired the venue for the party.
On a third occasion he tipped off the Sun about a search the police were about to make in the home of the convicted serial murderer Peter Tobin, after a clairvoyant phoned investigators to say she had dreamed of more bodies beneath the floor.
Bowes was charged by officers from Operation Elveden, the Met's investigation into police corruption. He is the fourth police officer to be convicted of passing information to a newspaper.
Bowes had no previous convictions and was dismissed on 14 September 2012, for gross misconduct following his arrest.
Mark Bryant Heron, for the Crown, told how Bowes had "panicked" when the clairvoyant, who had contacted the police regarding Tobin, complained that someone had leaked information about her call to the Sun and he then stopped contact with the paper.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment