Police examine computers in child porn case

POLICE involved in a child pornography inquiry which has led to the arrest of a detective who worked as a family liaison officer with the parents of murdered schoolgirl Jessica Chapman were yesterday said to be examining two computers.

Det Constable Brian Stevens, 41, and a second constable, also involved in the Soham murders inquiry, were arrested early on Thursday in connection with an FBI investigation into internet sites.

Police were yesterday given a further 12 hours to question Mr Stevens and the other officer after the case was reviewed by a superintendent. A police source said officers were also looking at two computers which had been seized in connection with the investigation. It is thought the computers had been taken from each officer’s home.

Det Constable Stevens and the other officer are both accused of “inciting others to distribute indecent photographs of children.” They are both being questioned at an unnamed police station outside Cambridgeshire.

Mr Stevens has been working with the Chapman family since Jessica and her friend Holly Wells, both 10, vanished on August 4. Last month, he read a poem, written by a friend of the Chapman family, at a service of remembrance for the girls in Ely Cathedral near Soham. The families of Holly and Jessica released a statement through police saying they had been informed of the development.

The statement added: “This does not affect our view of the fairness and credibility of the police investigation.”

The arrests of the two officers follow an internal inquiry by Cambridgeshire Police.

The arrests follow an inquiry by West Midlands Police, which had been instigated after Cambridgeshire Police became aware of allegations against the two officers.

The investigation is part of a wider inquiry in which British police have been focusing on users of pay-per-view web-sites in the United States.

The investigation into the websites has been co-ordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in America.

In May, 36 people were arrested in Britain in a series of raids connected with the investigation.

The investigation co-ordinated by the FBI has identified thousands of internet paedophile suspects worldwide.