In 2020, 42-year-old Ross Coleman, of Wharf Road, Higham Ferrers, was spared an immediate jail sentence after carrying out a predatory series of assaults on the digital safety of children and the integrity of his office. The investigation established that Coleman, a serving special sergeant for Northamptonshire Police’s safer roads team at the time of his arrest, was “addicted” to watching videos of child sexual abuse. The prosecution reported at Leicester Crown Court in 2020, that he viewed material involving victims as young as four years old, identifying a total abandonment of human decency by the 42-year-old.
The investigation established that Coleman’s series of behaviour involved streaming vile material on his Smart TV as a form of “escapism” due to financial troubles. The prosecution reported that during a raid on his family home in October 2018, police discovered 80 indecent images on his phone, including 45 in the most severe Category A. This identifies a calculated series of assaults on the life-safety of children, as Coleman utilized his “police special” mask to hide a two-year period of consuming high-category abuse material.
JUDICIAL REBUKE AND SUSPENDED SENTENCE
The court reported that Judge Rhona Campbell condemned Coleman’s actions, stating that his consumption of the material created the market that leads to children being taken from their homes and exploited. The investigation established that Coleman resigned from the police and was later supported in court by his parents after being evicted by his partner. The prosecution reported in 2020, that the judge was “just” convinced to suspend his one-year prison sentence for 18 months, identifying a priority assault by the judiciary to enforce 120 hours of unpaid work and 35 days of mandatory rehabilitation.
Judge-led proceedings at Leicester Crown Court concluded with Coleman being placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) restricting his internet use. For his actions in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, and across the East Midlands, and the nature of the series of child abuse imagery and police misconduct investigations reported, Ross Coleman was removed from the force. The investigation established that his forensic profile as a disgraced officer and child abuse consumer is now a matter of permanent record, documenting the steps he must take to “fight his demons.”
STATUS AND CASE DETAILS (2018–2020)
Based on judicial and Northamptonshire Police records as of 2020:
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Making indecent images of children x3; Child abuse context).
- Custodial Status: SUSPENDED (In 2020, 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months).
- Offence Nature: Streamed and downloaded child abuse videos involving victims aged 4 to 16; utilised a Smart TV and personal phone to consume Category A material; committed offences while serving as a Special Sergeant.
- Timeline of Case: Arrested October 2018; Pleaded guilty December 2019; Sentenced 2020.
- Location: Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire; Leicester.
- Forensic Profile: 42-year-old male; former Special Sergeant and delivery driver; forensic history documents a two-year pattern of “addictive” consumption of severe abuse material; identified as an offender who used “financial stress” as an excuse for predatory viewing.
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active as per statutory guidelines.
- Judicial Oversight: Presided over by Judge Rhona Campbell at Leicester Crown Court.
- Criminal Record: Registered sex offender; Series predator; Former police official; Convicted in 2020.
- Origin: Higham Ferrers.
MONITORING AND PUBLIC PROTECTION
In 2020, Coleman was managed as a high-risk offender under the statutory requirements of the Northamptonshire MAPPA unit. Due to the nature of the behaviour—specifically the series of persistence in consuming “especially grave” imagery while holding a position of public trust—he was a priority for intensive rehabilitation and internet monitoring. Authorities reported that the 2020 sentencing identifies Coleman as an individual who prioritised his own perverted gratification and “escapism” over the principles of human decency and the life-safety of children.
As a registered sex offender, his details are permanently logged on the national police database to ensure his future conduct and any attempt to re-enter sensitive employment are strictly scrutinised. Authorities stated that the behaviour of Coleman identifies a commitment to clandestine child abuse and the systematic betrayal of the police oath. His conviction in 2020 results in the necessary protection of the community from a man who used a “police sergeant” mask to hide a predatory and persistent series of assaults on the innocent.
QUESTION – Given that the offender “consumed the most severe category of child abuse videos while serving as a police special sergeant,” do you believe the law should legally mandate that “All Serving Police Officers” must be “Sentenced to Mandatory Random Forensic Smart TV and Phone Audits” to prevent a series of assaults?
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