Michael Elmer – Gloucester

A former police constable has been jailed for 13 months after admitting making and distributing indecent images of children, including some in the most serious category.

Michael Elmer, who worked for Avon and Somerset Police in Bristol, pleaded guilty in February to three counts of making indecent images of a child and one count of distributing such images.

The 36-year-old, of Swineford in South Gloucestershire, also admitted a charge of sharing a photo of a person in an intimate state for the purposes of sexual gratification.

Elmer, whose crimes were committed while he was a serving police officer, was jailed at Exeter Crown Court, and also given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Elmer was arrested in May 2025 after a tip-off suggesting he had been engaging in inappropriate activity online.

A search of his phones found he had downloaded 96 Category A child abuse images – the most serious – including images depicting children being raped.

The phones also contained 60 Category B and 281 Category C images.

He had also downloaded apps to allow him to access the dark web and chat with other individuals with a sexual interest in children.

The court heard on one occasion in April 2025, Elmer doctored an image of underage teenage girls in school uniform to make them appear naked and then shared the picture with others.

On another occasion, Elmer found a photo of a woman he knew and again edited the image so she appeared unclothed, before sending it to his chat

Elmer initially denied any offences in police interviews but pleaded guilty in court.

The former PC was barred from policing on 7 April after a misconduct hearing found he had committed gross misconduct – he had already resigned.