A FORMER Devon and Cornwall police officer will soon be appearing in front of magistrates for alleged offences involving children.

Former Police Sergeant, John Bramwell, aged 53, from Exeter will appear in front of magistrates at Exeter Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 15 February on two counts of allegedly making indecent images of children.

The offences allegedly took place between September and October 2021 while Bramwell was a police sergeant, however, Devon and Cornwall Police have stated that he is no longer an employee of theirs.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "A former Devon & Cornwall Police officer is due to appear in court this afternoon accused of making indecent images of children.

"Former Police Sergeant, John Bramwell, aged 53 and from Exeter, has been summonsed before Exeter Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 15 February.

"He faces two charges of making incident images of children between September and October 2021.

"Bramwell was a Police Sergeant at the time of the alleged offences and is no longer an employee of Devon & Cornwall Police."

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The news comes after a former Devon and Cornwall Police student was jailed for four years after he sent sexual messages and explicit images of himself to a nine-year-old girl online. 

Jason Hicks, aged 31, also persuaded the victim into sending him intimate photos – and tried to do the same with four other children.

The offences were uncovered while Hicks, of Bishopsteignton, was in training to be a Devon and Cornwall Police officer.

He was immediately arrested and suspended and subsequently dismissed without notice.

Officers found more than 1,200 indecent images and videos of children on his laptop, iPad and other digital devices seized when a warrant was carried out at his home.

Hicks fully admitted offences dating back to 2012 in his first police interview - telling detectives he felt relieved to have been caught. 

He pleaded guilty to a total of 13 charges and was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on February 2.

The images and videos found on his devices involved children as young as eight and included 127 in the most severe ‘Category A’.

Hicks was also issued with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the judge ordered the destruction of his digital devices.  

He will serve three years on licence if he is deemed safe for release from prison after four years.