A police officer who was caught in a law enforcement sting after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy he had met on Grindr has been jailed for 32 months.
Inspector Thomas Kettleborough, 35, was caught by officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit when he went to meet the child.
The Avon and Somerset officer thought he was communicating with a child but was in fact snared in an undercover police sting, Exeter Crown Court heard.
Nicholas Lewin, prosecuting, said Kettleborough had used a false name – calling himself Liam on Grindr and Snapchat – and claimed to be 28.
After beginning sexually explicit chat with the teenager, the pair arranged to meet on July 14 2023 in a car park in Bristol.
“Police officers attended on Mr Kettleborough and arrested him in relation to the conversation,” Mr Lewin said.
“During search of his vehicle, a yellow Aldi bag for life was located inside the boot containing an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints.”
Mr Lewin said that following his arrest, police found he had previously engaged in sexual communication with a child and had in his possession indecent images.
At an earlier hearing, Kettleborough pleaded guilty to charges of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
He also admitted one count of engaging in sexual 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.
“It is reflected, firstly in the guilty pleas, it is reflected in the pre-sentence report, and it is also reflected by Mr Kettleborough in his letter to the court,” he 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.”
Mr Bremridge said the several character references submitted on Kettleborough’s behalf spoke of the “high regard” he was held in.
“They have known him in a work capacity, they’ve known him in a personal capacity, and they have known him in a volunteering role capacity,” he said.
“What is apparent from those letters is that he has made a significant contribution to those areas in which he has worked, particularly in a volunteer role.”
Jailing Kettleborough for 32 months, Judge Stephen Climie said a combination of childhood trauma and his experiences as a police officer led to a decline in his mental health.
“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,” he said.
“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 sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex 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 sexual 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 sacked by Avon and Somerset Police last month for gross misconduct.
