Lee Bartram
Lee Bartram is a police officer from Birmingham in England where he serves as an Inspector for West Midlands Police. He is a paedophile awaiting sentence on child pornography charges.
Between August 2013 and August 2018[1] Bartram made and distributed a total of 328 indecent images.[2] He was arrested on August 13th, 2018 at his home.[3] After being bailed he allegedly filmed a 15-year-old boy sunbathing but his defence disputes this and claims he actually made the film in 2017.[4]
On August 15th, 2018 Bartram was charged and the following day he appeared before Walsall & Aldridge Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to five counts of making child pornography and two more of distributing it.[3] The court heard one film showed a boy aged six with Bartram adding commentary saying it was the boy's parents' fault becuase of how they dressed him.[5] He often added commentaries about what he'd like to do with the children he filmed.[4]
Prosecutors said the officer, then 44, had not directly abused children[1] but asked he be remanded to await sentence in prison on strength of the disputed video allegedly made on bail and because he is a suicide risk.[4] A judge agreed, saying "when dealing with bail I take the crown's case at its strongest" and that Bartram still showed sexual interest in children.[5] He was ordered to be held as one of the "most vulnerable" of prisoners and his address was withheld to protect his family from being "targeted by terrorists" after an application by police.[2]
On Septmeber 13th, 2018 Bartram is to be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court.[3] On August 17 the publication ban was lifted by the Crown Court, revealing Bartram to be a resident of Bustleholme Lane, West Bromwich, and he was granted bail ahead of sentencing as it was discovered the sunbathing video was taken in June 2017 and not whilst he was on bail.[6] On September 6, 2018 West Midlands Police sacked him without notice for gross misconduct at a decision chaired by the Chief Constable.[7]
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 West Midlands Police officer admits making indecent child images (BBC)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 West Midlands Police inspector Lee Bartram admits making indecent images of children (ITV)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 City police officer admits possession of indecent images of children (B31 Voices)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Disgraced police officer Lee Bartram 'filmed teen sunbathing' (Brimingham Mail)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Police inspector admits making indecent images of children (Sky News)
- ↑ Sex offender police inspector's home address ban lifted (Express & Star)
- ↑ Disgraced police officer sacked in “horror and disgust” after making indecent images of children (Coventry Telegraph)