Met officer who shared 'repulsive' photo of men having sex with woman's decapitated body jailed for 42 weeks
17 March 2023, 17:29
A former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed after sending a photo of two men having sex with a decapitated woman's body to colleagues as 'banter'.
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Pc Liam Boshein, 25, jailed for 42 weeks after admitting being in possession of the image, which the Crown Prosecution Service called "frankly repulsive".
Boshein sent the photo to a trainee officer as "banter", Portsmouth Crown Court heard.
He wrote that the shocking image was "still not as bad as the pregnant bird", referring to another photo of a woman giving birth alongside an erect penis.
Boshein's trial was said to fall under the Scotland Yard's broader culture of officers "trying to impress each other" in whichever way they could.
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Judge Timothy Mousley KC said the imprisonment was "unavoidable".
He told the defendant: "I have come to the view that this is a serious offence. It is undoubtedly a grossly offensive image.
"As you know one of the most serious aspects of this offence is the fact you forwarded the image on.
"You were a serving police officer and that is of course a serious aggravating factor. My conclusion is the only appropriate punishment can by achieved by immediate custody."
Boshein's mother wept in court as he was sentenced to 42 weeks, half of which he will serve behind bars.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that Boshein had been suspended from his post with the South Area Command Unit.
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The force's directorate of professional standards was also aware of the case.
Wessex senior crown prosecutor Ruth Sands said after the sentencing: "The image found on Liam Boshein's phone was frankly repulsive and certainly not something that the public would expect a police officer to have in his possession.
"The public rightly expects police officers to act with integrity and to uphold the law to keep our communities safe.
"We will continue to prosecute anyone who commits a criminal offence whenever our legal test is met."
