Former Maidenhead officer banned from policing profession over child sex offence

A former Maidenhead-based police officer who was sentenced for attempting to send sexual messages to a child has been banned from the profession following a misconduct hearing. 

Daniel Hunt, 32, would have been sacked for gross misconduct over the crime had he not resigned from Thames Valley Police, the force’s misconduct panel determined in a hearing this month.

Hunt pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and was handed an eight-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Oxford Crown Court in February.

Thames Valley Police’s chief constable Jason Hogg said, with Hunt having admitted guilt in court, ‘it would seem perverse to give no sanction’.

Hunt started work as a Police Constable at Thames Valley Police in 2019.

In December 2023, while he was based at Maidenhead Police Station, Hunt messaged a young child with the user name 'Summer', through an online chat service.

Despite Summer having said they were 12 years old, Hunt sent them an indecent photograph of himself as well as other sexual messages.

However, the child Hunt thought he had messaged was an undercover police officer.

He was arrested the next month, on January 25, 2024, and was suspended from Thames Valley Police until he resigned in November.

Hunt has also been found guilty of gross misconduct following a police misconduct hearing this month. 

In a report, chief constable Hogg said Hunt’s actions warranted dismissal.

Chief Constable Hogg said: “The fact that the officer persisted in his interaction with someone who had declared they were 12 years old is highly discreditable and leads to a significant loss of public trust and confidence and brings discredit to policing as a whole.”

Hunt was in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, and off-duty at the time of his crime.

“While this is off-duty conduct, engaging in sexual communications with a child is a criminal activity and a police officer would know this,” chief constable Hogg said.

“Therefore the officer clearly lacks integrity when pursuing a conversation of this nature.”

Being found guilty of gross misconduct means Hunt’s name has been added to the College of Policing’s barred list, a register of all ex-cops banned from the profession.

Offenders on the list cannot ask for a review until five years after the decision. 

Considering the panel’s ruling, chief constable Hogg said: “Having admitted and found guilty of a criminal offence, it would seem perverse to give no sanction.

“The conduct on behalf of former Police Constable Hunt fell below standards of behaviour expected of a member of the police service.

"The view of the public would be that Thames Valley Police should not employ officers who have convictions for criminal offences.

“The sanction is necessary to protect public confidence in the police service, making it clear that improper behaviour will not be tolerated.”

At his Oxford Crown Court sentencing, Hunt was also handed a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, imposed when a person is deemed to be a risk to the public.

He was also added to the Sex Offenders Register.

UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the officer as David Hunt. His actual name is Daniel Hunt. We apologise for the error.