South Yorkshire PC Admits Blackmailing Child Abuse Suspect

South Yorkshire police officer PC Marie Thompson pleaded guilty to blackmail and perverting the course of justice after attempting to extort £3,500 from a man suspected of possessing indecent images of children. Thompson, who led the investigation into the man and had arrested and interviewed him in October 2022, sent anonymous emails and texts in January 2023 pretending to be from a paedophile hunting group, demanding payment to keep his arrest confidential. The man reported the blackmail attempt to the police, but Thompson falsely recorded that he did not want to pursue a complaint and later lied that the sender could not be traced. An internal investigation revealed the messages were sent from Thompson's personal devices, and she was found to be in significant gambling debt at the time. She was suspended in March 2023 for unrelated matters, and another officer took over the case, uncovering the blackmail. The Crown Prosecution Service condemned her actions as disgraceful and reprehensible, and sentencing is scheduled for October 30.