Former Met officer jailed after sentence for 'sexual interest in babies' increased

Grant Long was given a two-year extended sentence, suspended for the same period, at Snaresbrook Crown Court last year after previously admitting intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence and three counts of distributing an indecent image of a child.

The 35-year-old's sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General as "unduly lenient" earlier this month, with barristers telling a hearing on Wednesday that Long's crimes "could only, and should only, have been dealt with by an immediate custodial sentence".

Lawyers for Long, a former police constable, said that the case was an "exceptional one" that meant the sentence could be suspended and that the sentence was appropriate.

In a ruling, three senior judges quashed the suspended sentence and replaced it with a four-year term comprising three years in custody and a fourth on extended licence.

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Lord Justice Singh, sitting with Mrs Justice Foster and Mr Justice Griffiths, said: "We have reached the conclusion that the overall sentence in this case was unduly lenient.

"The custodial term ought properly to have been above two years."

He continued: "Public confidence in the criminal justice system requires that there must be a sentence of immediate custody."

Long, who attended the hearing with a bag of belongings, showed no emotion as the sentence was increased and was ordered to surrender to Lewisham police station by 4pm on Wednesday.

In written submissions, Ben Lloyd, for the Solicitor General, said that between November 19 and December 21 2024, Long engaged in communications with an undercover officer who pretended to have an adult partner with a 10-year-old daughter.

Mr Lloyd said that Long exchanged messages with the undercover officer, at times while he was on duty, discussing child sex abuse, while also sending him links to indecent videos of a child.

The messages included Long telling the undercover officer that he liked "usually age 5+ but had enjoyed from newborn onwards previously", with Long stating in another message: "I'm just very cautious and want to ensure I'm not being trapped."

In court, Mr Lloyd said: "The child victim did not exist, but the offender did not know that and would have carried on his offending had he not been intercepted."

The barrister also said that the sentencing judge, Recorder Shaun Murphy, "erred in treating the fact that he (Long) was a police officer as mitigation".

He said: "It would be contrary to public policy for a police officer to receive a lesser sentence for this sort of offending because he is a police officer."

Claire Robinson, for Long, said her client "always accepted that it was serious offending" and was "thoroughly ashamed of his own behaviour", adding that he had voluntarily started therapy.

But she told the court that no meeting between Long and the undercover officer was arranged.

She said: "He did not use his position as a police officer in any way to conduct the offending or commit the offences."

She continued that the sentence was not "in the particular circumstances of this case, unduly lenient".

Long was arrested in January 2025 while working at Charing Cross police station, and dismissed without notice for gross misconduct following an accelerated misconduct hearing at the end of that month.

Following the hearing, Solicitor General Ellie Reeves said: "Grant Long's crimes were truly abhorrent.

"Thankfully, through innovative detective work, undercover police prevented him from abusing any children.

"I referred his suspended sentence as I believed it was unduly lenient, and I welcome the court's decision to jail Grant Long.

"As Solicitor General, I will use all tools to protect children and keep dangerous sexual predators off our streets."