No evidence of West Yorkshire PCSO Jonathan Plummer's phone being hacked, court hears as he stands trial for possessing indecent images of children
Jonathan Plummer, 35, a PCSO in Wakefield, is currently on trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with several offences including distributing an indecent image of a child, making indecent photographs of children, possession of a prohibited image of a child and possession of extreme pornographic images.
The court previously heard how the alleged offences took place between July 7, 2018 and August 15, 2018, and images found on Plummer's personal mobile phone included a baby being sexually assaulted, a woman having sexual intercourse with a dog and a lady bound and stabbed with a sword
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Hide AdProsecuting Louise Reevell said digital forensic investigator Joshua Ramskill had been asked to check Plummer's Samsung mobile phone after he told police he had been hacked and the images on his phone had nothing to do with him.
Ms Reevell asked Mr Ramskill: "What did you do in terms of looking as to whether the Samsung had been hacked?"
Mr Ramskill said: "I used our forensic tools, they can import virus definitions and give indications of malicious software. If there was something to suggest it had been hacked we would have known about it.
"We scanned everything on the device and found nothing."
Mr Ramskill said Kaspersky software had been downloaded as in internet security application on Plummer's phone which would have picked up any viruses.
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Hide AdMr Ramskill added: "I found nothing in terms of malicious software. if it had been hacked I would have found some form of malicious artefact."
The jury heard how evidence of hacking tutorials were also found on Plummer's phone.
Judge Neil Clark said: "Was this material of someone interested in hacking, but nothing to suggest he had been hacked?"
Mr Ramskill replied: "Yes, that is correct."
The court also heard how just six minutes after some of the indecent images had been downloaded, Plummer, who worked in the neighbourhood policing team, had taken a selfie of himself.
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Hide AdLeeds Crown Court heard yesterday how West Yorkshire Police conducted an audit of their Niche computer system which revealed the defendant had used it to search for material relating to offences involving indecent images of children and sexual offences.
Plummer, who is currently suspended from the force, denies all charges against him.
The trial continues.