By David Young-
A former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed after sending a photo of two men having sex with a decapitated woman’s body to colleagues as ‘banter’.
Pc Liam Boshein, 25, jailed for 42 weeks after admitting being in possession of the image, which the Crown Prosecution Service called “frankly repulsive”.
Boshein sent the photo to a trainee officer as “banter”, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.
He wrote that the shocking image was “still not as bad as the pregnant bird”, referring to another photo of a woman giving birth alongside an erect penis.
Boshein had been a trainee Met officer for three months when he forwarded a “grossly offensive” image to a colleague on WhatsApp.
Prosecutor Tim Devlin said the “appalling” nature of the image and Boshein’s position as a police officer justified imprisonment.
He told the court: “One has to look at this case in the context of what has been going on in the police force and the culture which appears to have arisen where people think it is acceptable, as officers, to share this sort of information.”
Defending Boshein, barrister Ryan Dowding said the police officer gained “no sexual gratification” from the image which was sent privately between two friends.
Mr Dowding argued Boshein should therefore not be jailed and said the image in question was the only one out of the 296,000 found on Boshein’s devices that was pornographic.
He also said that time in prison would further damage Boshein’s “fragile” mental health.
After the sentencing, Wessex senior crown prosecutor Ruth Sands, said the image found on Boshein’s phone was “frankly repulsive and certainly not something that the public would expect a police officer to have in his possession”.
A Met Police spokesman previously confirmed Boshein had been suspended from his post with the South Area Command Unit and the force’s directorate of professional standards was aware of th
Boshein’s trial was said to fall under the Scotland Yard’s broader culture of officers “trying to impress each other” in whichever way they could.
Judge Timothy Mousley KC said the imprisonment was “unavoidable”.
He told the defendant: “I have come to the view that this is a serious offence. It is undoubtedly a grossly offensive image.
“As you know one of the most serious aspects of this offence is the fact you forwarded the image on.
“You were a serving police officer and that is of course a serious aggravating factor. My conclusion is the only appropriate punishment can by achieved by immediate custody.”
Boshein’s mother wept in court as he was sentenced to 42 weeks, half of which he will serve behind bars.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that Boshein had been suspended from his post with the South Area Command Unit.
Wessex senior crown prosecutor Ruth Sands said after the sentencing: “The image found on Liam Boshein’s phone was frankly repulsive and certainly not something that the public would expect a police officer to have in his possession.
“The public rightly expects police officers to act with integrity and to uphold the law to keep our communities safe.
“We will continue to prosecute anyone who commits a criminal offence whenever our legal test is met.”
Boshewin hid his face with a covid mask and wore dark shades, but a professional photographer from The Associated press still got a shot of him which still makes him recognizable to those wo know him.
The Metropolitan police told The Eye Of MediaCom that they do nt have a full picture of him because he ws cautioned and interviewed, not arrested.
Image:PA