In 2020, the Offender Database recorded that 73-year-old Robert Branney—a former police officer who once served on a child protection team—was returned to prison for a second time. Branney, of Littler Trelower Park, St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court after admitting to possessing five extreme pornographic images. It was reported that the investigation established Branney had been accessing websites depicting people having sex with dogs, horses, and pigs while he was released under licence for previous child abuse offences.
The investigation established that police visited Branney’s home on 19 November 2018 for a routine check of his mobile phone, discovering a history of searches for bestiality. The prosecution reported that Branney, who served as a police officer for 28 years before retiring in 2001, had spent four years of his career specifically tasked with protecting children from sexual exploitation. Truro Crown Court heard that this latest offending was a direct violation of the statutory trust placed in him following his 2017 incarceration for making indecent photographs of a child.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that Branney claimed he accessed the prohibited material out of “curiosity” and cited a “low mental state” as a contributing factor. The investigation established that Branney had a persistent history of sexual offending, including a May 2016 conviction for possessing indecent images of children and extreme imagery. The prosecution reported that despite his defence describing the act as a “fleeting lapse,” his repeated return to illegal pornography while under monitoring proved a systemic failure to address his predatory interests.
Judge-led proceedings at Truro Crown Court concluded with Judge Simon Carr sentencing Branney to 10 months in prison. For his actions in St Austell and the wider digital space, he was also placed on the sex offenders register and remains subject to stringent monitoring. The judge noted that while the number of images was low, the “disgust” associated with the material and his background as a child protection officer made his continued offending particularly egregious.
Status and Statutory Requirements
For the records reported in Cornwall, the status of Robert Branney as of April 8, 2026, was as follows:
- Custodial Status: RELEASED (Served 10-month term; sentenced January 2020; released circa late 2020).
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active for life.
- SHPO Status: Subject to an INDEFINITE Sexual Harm Prevention Order (Including total prohibitions on unmonitored digital access).
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children or in any law enforcement capacity).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Possessing extreme pornographic images; Making/Possessing indecent images of children; Repeat offender).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Truro Crown Court; investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police.
- Criminal Record: Former Child Protection Officer convicted of child abuse imagery and bestiality; Repeatedly offended while on suspended sentences and licence.
- Origin: Littler Trelower Park, St Austell, Cornwall.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Branney is managed as a high-risk recidivist registered sex offender within the St Austell area. Due to the nature of his conduct—specifically his “professional insight” into investigative techniques and his “persistent return” to extreme and child abuse material—his management is a priority for the Devon and Cornwall Police Public Protection Unit. Authorities state that his history of serving in child protection identifies him as a sophisticated offender who requires the most rigorous level of digital forensic oversight.
As a registered sex offender for life, the 73-year-old’s details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that his repeated failures to remain offence-free while under court-imposed restrictions necessitate constant vigilance regarding his internet usage. Any change of residence in St Austell, any failure to report digital aliases, or any further access to prohibited imagery will result in immediate arrest to ensure the ongoing safety of the public from a man who spent decades learning the system he later chose to violate.
QUESTION – Given that the offender was a “Child Protection Officer” who repeatedly accessed abuse imagery after his retirement, do you believe that “Public Duty Pensions” should be stripped from any former officer convicted of sexual offences?
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