Today's most viewed
PC conned the CSA with false payslips
An "exemplary" Bradford police officer lost everything when he supplied false documents to the Child Support Agency to dishonestly cut his maintenance payments.
Depressed Jonathan Denyer-Stenson, 35, used police property to send the CSA falsified payslips after his marriage broke down and he was denied contact with his six-year-old daughter.
Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday that the police constable, who served at Bradford North, had gained only a modest amount from the "petty" series of offences.
But Judge Alistair McCallum, imposing a suspended prison sentence, told Denyer-Stenson: "The public expects people in your position to uphold the law, not abuse it like you did.
"I am assured that you did nothing at all which would in any way impinge on members of the public in bringing them dishonestly before these courts. If there was a scintilla of that you would be straight to prison for a long time."
Judge McCallum added: "Police officers are put in that elevated status where everybody trusts them. They are not expected to be dishonest. When you are put in a position like that it is a lot harder when you fall from the pedestal.
"You have lost your pension and the respect of your colleagues."
Prosecutor Ian Goldsack told the court that Denyer-Stenson, who was based at Lawcroft House police station, photocopied four pay slips and a P60 end of year payment summary and supplied them, or arranged for them to be supplied, to the CSA. His payments were reduced by nearly £24 per week.
But when his former wife appealed, the CSA reviewed the figures and discovered discrepancies. The case was referred to an appeals tribunal and Denyer-Stenson was asked for his P60, which he faxed to the wages department of West Yorkshire Police.
A member of the wages staff realised there were discrepancies, contacted the force's professional standards department and Denyer-Stenson was arrested.
Copies of the wage slips and P60, with notes from another sheet cut out and pasted on, were recovered from a police station desk drawer.
Mr Goldsack said Denyer-Stenson, of Marsden, Huddersfield, who pleaded guilty last month to three charges of furnishing false information, in March, July and November, 2006, had been summoned to a disciplinary hearing last week but resigned before it was to be heard.
He is now studying for a law degree and living on benefits and a student loan and is regularly paying back the benefit he had gained from the CSA.
Alan Taylor, mitigating, told the judge: "This offending was in no way connected with his work as a police officer, which was otherwise exemplary.
"He has lost his job, which he wanted from childhood, he has lost his prospects, he has lost his marriage and his daughter. Now he has lost his good name as well, there is not much more for him to lose.
"He knew eventually he'd be caught. There was an element of self-destruction and desperation in what he was doing."
Denyer-Stenson was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work.
After the case, Detective Superintendent Angela Williams, of the professional standards department, said: "West Yorkshire Police will not tolerate wrongdoing by its officers and, as in this case, when appropriate will take matters to court."
1:52am Thursday 27th March 2008
Print 
Email this
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
