A former Sussex Police officer, who had a ‘very explicit sexual conversation’ with a person he thought to be a 13-year old girl, has been spared jail.

Sussex Police said Damien Gibbons – formerly known as Damien Cotgreave – was found guilty of attempted online sexual communication with a child. This followed a three-day trial from Monday, December 18 at Guildford Crown Court.

The 48-year-old, of High Street, Hailsham, was a Sussex Police officer at the time of his arrest in February 2020.