Met with a police officer jailed for sharing a sick pornographic image of a headless woman with a colleague

A Metropolitan Police officer who sent a disgusting pornographic photo of two men having sex with the decapitated body of a woman to a colleague has been jailed.

Police officer Liam Boshein sent the extreme ‘gruesome’ image of a dead body to the male trainee partner as a form of ‘joke’, a court heard.

The 25-year-old’s conduct was said to fit into a broader “culture” within the Met of officials seeking to “impress each other” by sharing grossly offensive images and is the latest scandal to rock Scotland Yard.

Boshein, whose father is also a police officer, was jailed today for 42 weeks after admitting to being in possession of the ‘extremely offensive’ image, which the Crown Prosecution Service labeled ‘downright repulsive’.

Portsmouth Crown Court also heard how the disgraced PC sent a message to a trainee officer, saying the picture was “still not as bad as the pregnant bird” picture of a woman giving birth alongside with an erect penis.

Judge Timothy Mousley KC said “a prison sentence is unavoidable”, adding: “He was a serving police officer and that of course is a very serious aggravating characteristic.”

Boshein, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, appeared in Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty last month to committing the offense between November 7, 2019 and April 4, 2021.

Processing, Tim Devlin described the image, saying it had been shared with trainee officer Mark Hamilton in November 2019.

The court heard that the images were found when Hampshire police examined Boshein’s phone as part of another investigation.

Mr Devlin continued: “There seems to be an element of banter between Boshein and Hamilton.”

The court heard that when interviewed by police, Boshein stated that he “did not remember” the image and “would not have kept it”.

He also said he was “shocked” to see the photo and had not become “sexually aroused”.

Devlin told the court that the offense occurred after Boshein was finally accepted to join the police force, on his third try.

“Now he had joined and was undergoing training and must have taken into account the standard of conduct that fell upon him as a police officer.”

Devlin said the conduct was “really concerning” given “recent cases of Met police officers”, citing the jailing of PC Jonathon Cobban and former PC Joel Borders in November last year in connection with a WhatsApp group with Wayne. Couzens disgraced.

“You have to see this in the context of the culture that seems to have emerged at the Met, where people think it’s acceptable to share this kind of thing to impress others.”

In mitigation, Ryan Dowding said that while the photo and the messages surrounding it were “unacceptable”, there was no “sexual gratification”.

Dowding added that it was the only image out of 296,000 found on Boshein’s devices that was pornographic and that jail time would further damage his “fragile” mental health.

The court heard that Boshein had attempted suicide, had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and was taking medication for both.

Offering an apology on behalf of the disgraced PC, Mr Dowding said: “He has shown regret and remorse and was an immature 22-year-old at the time.”

“This was not an image from which either party involved derived any sexual gratification. He was sent out of morbid curiosity.

Addressing Boshein, Judge Timothy Mousley KC said: “I have come to the conclusion that this is a serious offence.”

“It is without a doubt a grossly offensive image.

‘As you know, one of the most serious aspects of this crime is the fact that you forwarded the image.

You were a serving police officer and that is, of course, a serious aggravating factor. My conclusion is that the only appropriate punishment can be achieved by immediate custody.

Boshein’s mother wept in court when he was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison, half of which he will serve before being released.

Boshein had already resigned from the police force after being assigned restricted duties after the investigation took place.

A Met Police spokesman confirmed on an earlier occasion that Boshein had been suspended from his position with the Southern Area Commando Unit and that the force’s professional standards directorate was aware of the case.

Ruth Sands, Wessex’s chief crown prosecutor, said after the sentencing: “The image found on Liam Boshein’s phone was downright repulsive and certainly not something the public would expect a police officer to have in their possession.”

‘The public rightly expects police officers to act with integrity and uphold the law to keep our communities safe.

“We will continue to prosecute anyone who commits a criminal offense as long as our legal test is met.”