South Yorkshire Police
A former police officer has been jailed after she pretended to be a paedophile hunter and tried to blackmail a suspect in a bid to cover her gambling debts.
PC Marie Thompson, 29, had used a fake email address to demand £3,500 from the man arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, and then falsely told him she had been unable to find the perpetrator when he reported it to her.
Thompson, who worked for South Yorkshire Police, pleaded guilty to blackmail and perverting the course of justice at Leeds Crown Court.
She was sentenced to 40 months in prison on Thursday.
The court heard…