Police IT worker sent explicit photo to 'teen girl' in Snapchat sex chat.

Police Worker Sent Explicit Photo to Decoy 'Teenage Girl'

Matthew Bowers, a worker for North Yorkshire Police, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for engaging in sexual communication with a child. Bowers, 30, sent an explicit photo of himself and made explicit sexual comments to a "teenage girl" he met online, who was actually a decoy.

The conversation took place on Snapchat, where Bowers, using a false name and pretending to be younger than his age, engaged in sexually explicit chat with "Jazz," who informed him she was 13 years old. Bowers gave sexual instructions to the decoy, who was actually an adult.

Bowers pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced by Judge Howard Crowson at Teesside Crown Court.

"You thought you were talking to a 13-year-old girl, who had been expressing ignorance about sexual matters. The person you were speaking to was an adult - he was a decoy," stated Judge Crowson.

In addition to the prison sentence, Bowers was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16. This order also restricts his online activity, banning the use of VPNs, private browsing, and data cleaning software. Bowers must declare use of remote storage or clouds to the police within three days. He is also subject to sex offender notification requirements for the next 10 years.

Bowers' defense attorney, Chris Baker, stated that his client had served in the navy for eight years before working in IT for the police force. He added that Bowers' family are supporting him during this difficult time.