Former Essex Police chief sentenced over child image

A police chief inspector has been given a suspended six-month jail sentence after admitting possession of an indecent image of a child.

Ben Hodder, 34, from Thurrock and who works for Essex Police, will be tagged and under supervision for 12 months.

The judge at Snaresbrook Crown Court imposed a night curfew and said he must pay a victim surcharge of £1,200.

His sentence was suspended for three years and he will remain on the sex offenders register for seven years.

The indecent picture of the child was assessed to be in the lower C category.

Another charge was dropped after it was revealed the man in the picture was over the age of 18.

When he was arrested in May last year, Hodder was suspended from his post as Essex Police area commander for Thurrock.