Peter Hogan

Peter Hogan, a 62-year-old former West Midlands Police officer and chairman of governors at Baskerville School in Harborne, Birmingham, was sentenced to one year in prison after admitting to three charges of making indecent images of children. The offences occurred between 2009 and 2016, during which detectives discovered just over 4,000 images on his computer equipment, including 243 category A images—the most severe level—with one victim believed to be as young as six years old.

Hogan's arrest came in October 2016, just six months after he was praised in a school newsletter for his contributions to securing an E-Safety mark, aimed at protecting pupils online. He resigned from his position as chairman on the day of his arrest. Prior to this, Hogan had a 28-year career in public service, initially as a police officer and later as a civilian driver for senior officers.

The raid on Hogan's home in Warren Hill Road, Kingstanding, was conducted by West Midlands Police's online child sexual exploitation team. Charlotte Gessey, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, highlighted the large number of different victims, the high volume of images, and Hogan's attempts to conceal them using various applications on his devices.

Recorder Stephen Linehan QC, in sentencing, described the proliferation of child sexual abuse images online as a wave of criminal activity enabled by viewers seeking gratification. He noted the non-consensual nature of the content and its devastating impact on victims' lives. Aggravating factors included the seven-year duration of the offending, Hogan's deliberate searches, and his cataloguing of the images for repeated access. Despite Hogan's previous good character and voluntary work, the judge emphasised that he had brought the consequences upon himself. Hogan was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Arvind Sharma, defending, mentioned Hogan's psychological difficulties and his confession to his sexual predilections, which is unusual in such cases. The sentencing took place on 30 March 2017, as reported by Birmingham Live.