Peter Burningham, a 40-year-old former senior paramedic with the London Ambulance Service, engaged in the possession and distribution of child abuse material between 2020 and 2022. While maintaining an outwardly respectable life in Reading, he trawled the internet for hundreds of 'abhorrent' images depicting the sexual abuse of very young children, some as young as one year old. Burningham was convicted of two counts of distributing indecent videos of children and three counts of making indecent images across Categories A, B, and C, the most serious classifications under UK law.
During online exchanges with another paedophile, Burningham suggested they seek employment at a maternity ward to gain access to babies for abuse. In another disturbing conversation, he proposed volunteering at Romanian orphanages to exploit children. These extreme fantasies were uncovered through investigations into his digital devices, which revealed moving images of distressed and pained children, some as young as two years old, enduring sustained abuse that physically and mentally ruined their lives.
Burningham was sentenced last year at court to two years and four months in prison. Judge Alan Blake remarked during sentencing: 'Despite your protestations, it seems to me, from the material available on your devices, that there was some sexual interest in children. We're dealing here with very young children, some aged as young as one to three. They are the most abhorrent images. They are images of children whose lives are physically and mentally ruined by sustained abuse. In some of those images, there is evidence of discernible pain or distress.' The conviction led to his immediate dismissal from the London Ambulance Service, with chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer stating: 'We absolutely condemn the criminal behaviour of Mr Burningham. While Mr Burningham’s criminal charges relate to his behaviour outside of work and did not involve our patients, he was dismissed from our service as soon as his criminality came to light and was referred to the relevant regulatory body.'
On 16 October 2024, the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) held a hearing and ruled that Burningham should be struck off the register indefinitely, banning him from practising as a paramedic. At the tribunal, Burningham attributed his actions to drug use, specifically crystal methamphetamine, claiming: 'I have served my time in prison and am now trying to rebuild a life for myself free of drugs while seeking therapy and support for my offending/addictions. I’m truly sorry for ending up on drugs and committing these awful crimes, which betrayed my own principles and values. There is no excuse for what I did but I do believe I would never have acted out of character and so terribly without the influence of drugs.' However, the panel rejected his assertions, finding no evidence to support them and noting his attempts to minimise responsibility by blaming addiction. The HCPTS report highlighted: 'The panel noted the nature of the images that the registrant had not only viewed but distributed. These were said to involve moving images of abuse of very young children who were distressed and in pain. Children are a particularly vulnerable population, and some children in the images had been as young as two years old. The panel considered there had been a lack of remediation and insight, with the registrant continuing to minimise his responsibility for the conduct and there was a failure to appreciate the impact of his conduct on his victims.'
The case, reported by News Shopper and drawing on details from the HCPTS hearing and court proceedings, underscores the severity of child sexual exploitation offences and the regulatory consequences for professionals involved.