Former PC admits indecent child images charge
Getty ImagesA former West Yorkshire Police officer has pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children.
Zachary Haile appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court earlier where he admitted three counts of possessing indecent photographs - including some Category A images showing the most severe kinds of abuse.
The 27-year-old, who was based in Leeds, also pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
The offences are alleged to have taken place in Wakefield in 2022, when police said he was off-duty. He was later suspended from the force. Haile was ordered to appear before Leeds Crown Court to be sentenced on 10 November.
West Yorkshire Police said Haile was arrested on 25 July 2022 after he was linked to a social media account which had received an indecent image of a child.
His devices were seized and further indecent images were found on a number of mobile phones, the force said, with "evidence of conversations with a child on social media which were of a sexualised nature".
Haile, who was a student officer, was suspended from duty and resigned from the force while under investigation.
He appeared at a misconduct hearing in January 2025 where he was found guilty of gross misconduct.
Det Ch Supt Tanya Wilkins, head of West Yorkshire Police's professional standards directorate, said: "Clearly any suggestion that a police officer has been linked to offences involving children is treated with the upmost seriousness.
"We took immediate action to arrest and suspend Haile. He had actually only joined West Yorkshire Police two months before his arrest and was therefore very new in service when he was removed from duty.
"A misconduct hearing was held while Haile was still under investigation for these criminal matters and it was found that he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. It is clear that he is not fit to wear the uniform."
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