A policeman recorded himself sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl using her mobile phone, a court heard.
PC Luke Christopher Horner was off duty when he travelled more than an hour from his home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, to engage in sexual activity with the schoolgirl in Northamptonshire on 11 June this year.
The 24-year-old Thames Valley Police (TVP) officer pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual activity with a child during a hearing at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday.
Horner, who was based in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, resigned on 26 July, the force has now confirmed.
Prosecutor Ben Gow told the court Horner recorded the abuse on the victim’s phone.
“I understand that the pleas are entered on the basis he did record [the sexual activity] and the phone was in his hand.
“The phone was not his phone, it was belonging to the child in question.
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“It can be seen in his hand in the video.
“We regard this as one of the culpability features of the offence in question.”
A second count of making an indecent image of a child – deemed to form part of the sexual activity – was removed from the indictment, Mr Gow told the court.
Horner appeared at the court via video link from HMP Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.
Wearing a light grey suit, white shirt and blue tie, he spoke only to confirm his name and enter a guilty plea.
Horner was initially charged by Northamptonshire Police, but TVP suspended him from duty and launched a separate misconduct investigation after referring the matter to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
‘Disgrace to the uniform’
Detective Sergeant Sarah Osbourne, who led the Northamptonshire Police investigation, branded Horner a “disgrace to the uniform”.
First of all, I want to thank the family of the young girl in this case who put their trust in us to investigate it and bring Luke Horner to justice.
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“I am pleased that he has pleaded guilty today which has prevented them from having to go through the trauma of a trial, and I hope that whilst what happened can never be erased, this result will allow them to move forward.
“Cases of child sexual exploitation are always abhorrent but the fact that Luke Christopher Horner was a serving Thames Valley police officer, in a position of trust, makes this case all the more shocking.
“He is a disgrace to the uniform and I am glad that he will now go to prison and never be allowed to call himself a police officer ever again.”
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TVP deputy chief constable, Ben Snuggs, said he welcomed Horner’s admission of guilt and resignation.
“We are all appalled by Luke Horner’s crimes, and our thoughts are with the young woman who has been affected and her family.
“The bar at which standards are set in policing is rightly high.
“Anyone who falls below those standards in this way betrays the public’s trust and confidence in policing and the values of the profession as a whole.”
Horner will remain in custody ahead of his sentence, which is scheduled for 8 September.
