GMP officer warned he faces lengthy sentence after admitting more sex offences

Dean Dempster has pleaded guilty to a further eight offences after previously admitting to sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Dean Dempster
Author: Lynda RoughleyPublished 4th Sep 2024
Last updated 4th Sep 2024

A Greater Manchester Police officer, who has admitted a string of child sex offences, was warned today (Wednesday 4 September) that he is likely to face a lengthy sentence for public protection.

PC Dean Dempster has previously admitted sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl while on duty - and today he admitted a further eight offences.

The 35-year-old, of Langford Road, Manchester, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via video link from HMP Forest Bank, to face the new charges which involve two of misconduct in public office and six involving making a total of 4,016 indecent images of children.

Dempster, who served with GMP in the Oldham division as a response officer, is to be sentenced on November 13.

The first misconduct offence states that between January 13 and 15, 2022 while making missing person enquiries he recorded his interaction with a child and family members, who were in night clothes, on his body camera and then copied the images of them onto his mobile device for his own personal gratification.

The second misconduct charge involves attending a domestic incident on December 29, 2023 as a response officer and taking an image of the vulnerable child victim on his personal mobile for his own gratification.

The other charges involve making indecent photographs and pseudo photographs of children in all three categories of seriousness - 104 in the most serious category - between December 15 and December 29, 2023.

At the previous hearing he admitted sexually touching a six-year-old girl while on duty in Oldham on December 29 last year.

Vanessa Thomson, prosecuting, told the court that police inquiries are on-going and Dempster should not presume there will be no further charges.

The defendant is a former Army reservist who joined the force in 2021 after serving as a special constable and ambulance service paramedic. He was arrested on New Year's Eve last year.

Judge Stuart Driver, KC, adjourned sentence to enable psychiatric and probation reports to be prepared.

He told him:

"The court will have to consider future risk.

"There is the certainty of a long prison sentence in this case and the likelihood of an extended sentence for the protection of the public in future."

He further remanded balding Dempster, who was wearing a dark top and jacket, in custody and ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register.

A spokesman for GMP said Dempster has been suspended from duty and misconduct proceedings will resume upon the conclusion of criminal proceedings.

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