Michael Aspinall, aged 35, of Salford, Greater Manchester, has received a suspended prison sentence at Preston Crown Court after being convicted of multiple online child sex offences committed while serving as a police officer.
The prosecution arose from an undercover investigation conducted by detectives from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU).
Aspinall was arrested in October 2024 after specialist officers gathered digital evidence demonstrating that he had initiated and maintained sexually explicit communications online with profiles he believed to be children.
The recipients of the messages were undercover police officers deployed to identify predatory online behaviour.
At the time of his arrest, Aspinall was an active police officer with Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
The force suspended him from duty with immediate effect.
Prior to his sentencing hearing, Aspinall submitted his resignation from the service.
Aspinall pleaded not guilty, but following a Crown Court trial in July, a jury returned guilty verdicts on three counts of attempting sexual communication with a child.
On Monday, 14 September 2026, the court sentenced Aspinall to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for an operational period of two years.
Under the provisions of the sentence, Aspinall must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements under probation supervision.
The court additionally imposed a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order and directed that Aspinall remain subject to the statutory notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register for a period of 10 years.
Following the criminal proceedings, an Accelerated Misconduct Hearing chaired by Greater Manchester Police determined that had Aspinall remained in post, he would have been dismissed from the force without notice.
He was formally added to the College of Policing barred list, imposing a lifetime prohibition against working within UK policing or law enforcement bodies.
Furthermore, an official application requesting the forfeiture of Aspinall’s police pension has been submitted to the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for formal determination.
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