A “predatory” Kent Police officer who masqueraded as a girl while indulging in depraved online chats with young boys has been spared jail.

Harry Bontoft, 26, was a serving constable at the time of his offending and arrest three years ago.

Maidstone Crown Court heard he was "initially reticent" when confronted by officers with a warrant to search his home, and later refused to disclose the PIN for his phone when they seized it.

Once the device had been cracked and analysed, three sexually explicit videos were found.

One was of a teenage boy performing a sex act on himself while the others revealed Bontoft encouraging children - two of whom appeared to be no older than 12 - to strip and show him their bodies.

Bontoft, who has since resigned from the force and set up a construction business, cajoled one into "not being shy at getting nude for Daddy", while describing two others as "sexy" and "so hot".

But despite the fact the Court of Appeal stated committing a crime while a police officer is in itself enough to warrant an immediate jail term, a judge decided on Friday to take an "exceptional" course.

KentOnline has also seen damning documents in respect of formal disciplinary proceedings conducted by Chief Constable Tim Smith after Bontoft had quit, which state his "deliberate and predatory" targeting of children for his own sexual gratification was "a complete betrayal of public trust" and the “core values of policing".

Furthermore, the case was described as being so serious that it would have been "simply intolerable" for him to have remained a serving constable.

However, despite the severity of the offending, KentOnline is unable to include a picture of Bontoft, as the sentence imposed by the court does not comply with the force's policy that custody images are issued to the media only if a defendant receives an immediate jail term of at least 12 months.

It was in July 2021 that Bontoft, of Bull Lane, Eccles, was discovered to have been engaging in deviant behaviour online.

Police had been made aware of a "potentially indecent” photo being uploaded to a Snapchat account and traced the IP address to Bontoft's home.

His phone was seized and, after some time and expense in accessing the device, a video was discovered lasting almost four minutes which featured a boy aged 14 or 15 engaged in sexual activity.

The other two videos, appeared to originate from Omegle, an online platform whereby users can chat with strangers selected randomly.

In the first, lasting just over five minutes, Bontoft posed as a girl called 'Jess' as he chatted with a 15-year-old boy.

"During that conversation, a number of sexual comments are made that include the defendant asking the boy what turns him on, what his favourite fetishes are, what he prefers," explained prosecutor Rio Pahlavanpour.

"There are requests for him (the boy) to show him (Bontoft) bits of his body and in fact that was endorsed by him (Bontoft) saying 'I will show you pictures of myself' in exchange."

The court heard the disgraced constable also told the boy to "tease him", and described himself as being "horny and nude".

"When the child says 'Can you show me?' the defendant replies 'You first'," continued the prosecutor.

"He (Bontoft) asks if he is 'big downstairs, baby' and says 'Don't be shy at getting nude for Daddy'."

The second video, lasting two minutes and 51 seconds, depicted two boys aged between 10 and 12, one with his top off.

The pair were asked who had the best body, before being told by Bontoft that he would "rate" them.

Having remarked "I bet you are both so hot", he then asked the second child to remove his top before describing him as "sexy" and asking "Are you both wearing boxers?"

The explicit chat continued with him questioning whether they had underpants on, commenting "I bet you have big bulges lol", and then requesting their Snapchat details.

Following his arrest, Bontoft gave two 'no comment' interviews.

But he eventually pleaded guilty last year to one offence of making an indecent, category B, video file of a child and two offences of engaging in sexual communication with a child.

His barrister, Kate Temple-Mabe, said at the time of his offending Bontoft was suffering from mental health problems in relation to his mother's death and a fatal car crash he had encountered in his work as a police officer.

He has since been diagnosed with PTSD and depression, and through psychosexual therapy had developed insight into his criminality, she said.

The court also heard he was just eight years old when his father inadvertently introduced him to pornography by falling asleep while watching it on the family TV.

But by the time he was 13, Bontoft was himself accessing such material on his phone, and indulging in sexualised conversations with his school friends and peers which, said Ms Temple-Mabe, became a "form of escapism" when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

It was this period in his life which, she added, Bontoft now believes had "consolidated a sexual interest in teenage children which he has not been able to move on from".

Furthermore, after his mother died when he was 19, his family life was said to have "fallen apart" in the aftermath.

"He thinks he reverted back to a time in his life when he felt confident and at ease," added his barrister.

"He agrees he has developed inappropriate coping mechanisms and feels a large degree of shame, disgust and remorse."

Although Bontoft was said to be supported by his partner, Ms Temple-Mabe told the court he had "lost his career, his good name, his standing in the eyes of community", and, having arrived at court with a packed bag, knew that jail was "a likely outcome".

"He hasn't waited to learn his fate but taken proactive steps in addressing the underlying issues," she said.

"His life has forever altered and he is not callous. He feels the pain of knowing the harm he has caused society. He has learnt lessons and has absorbed them.

Passing sentence, Recorder Alan Gardner KC said that having "very carefully" considered what had been said on his behalf and all that he had read, including a letter from Bontoft, he believed that any risk could be safely managed in the community as opposed to a spell behind bars.

He said: "Offenders such as you encourage and bring about the actual real-life sexual abuse of children and the dreadful effects that these courts all too often hear about.

"You have lost your good character as a police officer and breached the trust placed by the community and the public in the police.

"He has betrayed the core values of policing and harmed those he was entrusted to protect…"

"Trust is undermined when a serving police officer commits any offence, let alone offences as dreadful as these. Leaving aside you, it damages the reputation of the police service.

"In many cases, the senior courts have said that alone may result in immediate imprisonment. But I take the view I can take an exceptional course in your case because of everything I have read about you and everything I have heard about you.

"You have resigned as an officer, you have embarked on a new career, and I have read the references...and to your credit you have undertaken work to ensure this never happens again.

"You accept you have a sexual interest in children and that acceptance is a very important step in ensuring it doesn't happen again."

Bontoft was handed a 10-month jail term suspended for 18 months, with conditions of 120 hours of unpaid work, 30 rehabilitation activity sessions, and to undergo a sex offender treatment programme.

He must also sign the sex offender register and was made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

Professional Standards Department documents available online, signed by the Chief Constable, and dated October last year - eight months after Bontoft admitted his criminality - made a finding of gross misconduct.

Contrary to what was said at his sentencing hearing, the age of one of the children targeted by him is also said to have been assessed as being as young as eight.

Stating the reasons for its finding of gross misconduct, the document says there is "no doubt his actions in committing these offences was intentional".

It continues: "The harm in this case is very high - the impact on former PC Bontoft's victims does not need spelling out, suffice to say the victims are all children, with one victim being assessed as only eight years old.

"It is obvious that the actions of former PC Bontoft will have resulted in significant psychological harm to these children.

"In addition, I believe that once this case becomes more widely publicised it will have a significantly adverse impact on the trust and confidence the public have in Kent Police and the circumstances of his offending is a complete betrayal of the public trust with former PC Bontoft choosing to intentionally target children for his own sexual gratification.

"He has betrayed the core values of policing and harmed those he was entrusted to protect."

The chief constable goes on to conclude: "I believe this case is one that is 'particularly serious' and that the public would find it simply intolerable that former PC Bontoft remain as a serving officer.

"I believe the only appropriate and proper outcome in this case is one of dismissal and therefore had former PC Bontoft still been serving today he would have been dismissed at this hearing.

"I also believe that the need to protect vulnerable people from PC Bontoft more than justifies him being added to the 'Barred List' to prevent him ever being employed in policing again and holding a position of authority, providing further protection to any potential victims."

Very limited details of the 26-year-old's policing career were given and it is not known where he was based within the county.