Aidan Thompson

Aidan Thompson, a 35-year-old married constable with Greater Manchester Police, was jailed for 14 months at Preston Crown Court for secretly filming women and girls without their consent, including a brazen incident in Manchester's Arndale Centre.

On 6 October 2015, Thompson was captured on security cameras at the TK Maxx store in the Arndale Centre stalking a striking 17-year-old girl for up to 40 minutes. Dressed in civilian clothes, he followed her through the aisles, then used a camera concealed inside a plastic bag with a deliberate hole to film up her skirt. Court footage showed him swinging the bag under her skirt and checking the screen to ensure he had captured the images. The girl, unaware of the violation, later told officers: 'If you can’t trust a police officer, who can you trust?'

Thompson's offending extended beyond this incident. While on duty and in uniform, he had been called to a flat to investigate a serious sexual assault on a woman's flatmate. As the victim prepared to go out, wearing a short skirt and off-the-shoulder top, Thompson engaged in casual 'chit chat' and secretly filmed her thighs with his mobile phone. This recording was only discovered later during the investigation into his arrest.

Police searches of Thompson's Stockport home revealed a cache of surreptitious footage on his computer equipment, including women undressed in changing rooms, the backsides of girls in tight trousers, and even a bizarre clip of him fiddling with a leotard in a police station locker room. None of the victims were aware they had been filmed, highlighting the predatory nature of his actions driven by an unhealthy interest in young women for sexual gratification.

Thompson, from Stockport, admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office and outraging public decency at an earlier hearing. Judge Mark Brown, Recorder of Preston, sentenced him on 23 May 2016, stating: 'You not only have let yourself down, you have let the police service down as well. Hardly surprising that this sort of conduct should undermine so significantly the confidence people have in police officers.' The judge emphasised that an immediate custodial sentence was necessary to fulfil his public duty. Thompson, previously described as a dedicated officer, is suspended from duty and expected to be dismissed from Greater Manchester Police. His wife, family, and colleagues were reportedly stunned by his behaviour. Defending barrister Bernadette Baxter noted Thompson's psychiatric difficulties and the imminent loss of his job, along with the shame he faced.

The case, reported by the Manchester Evening News, underscores the betrayal of public trust by a serving officer. Greater Manchester Police declined to comment further.