Met Police Officer Considers Quitting Over 'Despicable' Paedophile's Suspended Sentence
A Metropolitan Police officer has expressed his utter disbelief and threatened to resign from the force after a judge allowed a convicted paedophile to walk free from court without serving any prison time. The case involves Jordan Cave, a 28-year-old former IT technician at The Latymer School in Edmonton, North London, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy at the school and possessing thousands of horrific child abuse images.
Judge Defends 'Onerous' Non-Custodial Sentence
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday, February 2, Recorder Maryam Syed KC insisted her decision to suspend Cave's two-year sentence for two years was "not lenient" but rather a "deliberately onerous, hard package" designed to punish the offender and protect the public. The sentence includes a four-month curfew, 200 hours of unpaid work, 20 days of rehabilitation activity, 26 sessions on a sex offender programme, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, and £800 in compensation to the victim.
Recorder Syed cited several factors in her decision, including Cave's young age, lack of maturity, and diagnoses of autism and ADHD, which she said put his offending "in context." She also noted his lack of reoffending since the attack and recommendations from probation services and a psychologist. "I could have sent you to prison for four, five, six years," she told Cave in court, "but I have to bear in mind your young age, lack of maturity, specific psychological and psychiatric disorders."
Officer's Visible Disbelief in Courtroom
A police officer from a specialist child sexual abuse team was visibly shaken during the sentencing, shaking his head and holding his hand to his face as the judge announced the suspended sentence. Recorder Syed acknowledged his reaction in court, saying, "[The officer] is shaking his head, but I do recognise the hard work done by [him] and his colleagues."
As he left the courtroom, the officer made his frustration clear, stating: "I will actually quit the police based off this." His reaction highlights the growing tension within police forces dealing with child sexual abuse cases, particularly when offenders avoid custodial sentences despite the severity of their crimes.
Horrific Details of the Abuse Emerge
The court heard disturbing details about Cave's offences, which came to light after police noticed suspicious activity on a DropBox account in 2022. A search of his then-home in Waltham Forest revealed nearly 4,000 indecent images, including 907 Category A images of real children and 216 Category A prohibited images. Among the material was a 10-minute video showing Cave sexually abusing the 12-year-old boy at the school, which he had stored in a file named 'Latymer.'
Recorder Syed described Cave's collection as "despicable," noting it included videos of boys aged between four and 11 who had been taped, handcuffed, and raped. Cave had also written documents detailing his account of the assault and other sexual fantasies about children, which the judge said described "fantasies involving raping and anal penetration of 10 to 13-year-olds."
Wider Implications for Child Protection
This case raises significant questions about sentencing for child sexual offences at a time when prisons are reportedly at "breaking point." While it has become increasingly common for offenders convicted of image-based offences to avoid prison, contact offences against children typically result in custodial sentences. The Centre for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates that the wider societal cost of contact child sex offences runs into billions of pounds, with victims often suffering lifelong consequences including anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, and relationship difficulties.
Defence counsel Charlie Austin-Groome described Cave's case as "truly exceptional," while Recorder Syed agreed it was "unusual." The judge emphasised that a "normal adult without such difficulties" would have expected at least a four-year sentence, which was reduced to three years due to Cave's disorders and then to two years for his early guilty plea.
Cave, who has since moved to Hubberstone in Pembrokeshire, refused to answer questions from reporters outside court about whether he considered his sentence reasonable or how he would feel if his own child had been attacked. He will be under supervision for 12 months and must sign onto the sex offenders' register as part of his sentence.
