Published on: November 3, 2025, 03:20h.
Updated on: November 3, 2025, 03:20h.
- Former officer impersonated a child predator watchdog for extortion.
- Employed fake email to extract money from a man she had previously arrested.
- Court imposed a 40-month sentence for extortion and misconduct.
A former police officer from the UK has been sentenced to over three years in custody for attempting to blackmail a sex offender to settle her gambling debts.
Marie Thompson, who resigned from her role with South Yorkshire Police last year, impersonated a child predator watchdog to extract money from a man she had arrested in connection with child pornography, per court documents.
She sent a fraudulent email requesting £3,500 (approximately $4,600) from the man, whose identity remains confidential due to media restrictions in the UK.
Thompson pleaded guilty to charges of blackmail and obstructing justice in August at Leeds Crown Court. On October 30, she was sentenced to serve 40 months in prison.
Gambling Addiction
The court revealed that Thompson struggled with a gambling addiction and had accrued considerable debt at the time of the offense.
She had arrested the individual in October 2022 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children and was involved in the related investigation. The suspect was questioned and subsequently released pending further inquiry.
On January 17, 2023, he received an email labeled “Pedophile Hunters” from a ProtonMail account. The email claimed to have details about his arrest and demanded payment to keep the information private.
The email further stated, “As an organization dedicated to safeguarding children from individuals like you, we therefore request a donation.”
That same day, the man’s partner received a message urging him to reply to the original email urgently. Instead of complying with the demand, the couple reported the incident to Thompson.
She assured them that she would investigate but then drafted a crime report falsely stating that the victim did not wish to pursue charges against the anonymous extortionist. She further manipulated records to conceal that the text had originated from her personal phone.
Six weeks later, Thompson informed the victim that the identity of the email sender could not be traced.
Deception Uncovered
Thompson was suspended from South Yorkshire Police in March 2023 for reasons unrelated to this case, and her workload was reassigned. Another officer initiated an investigation into the blackmail scheme.
The new investigator discovered the previous officer’s inadequate procedural follow-up and identified discrepancies in the communication records, revealing that the original number had indeed belonged to Thompson.
“Blackmail is a severe offense, regardless of the victim’s actions, and this should be evident to anyone, particularly a law enforcement officer,” stated Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division. “Her actions constituted a profound breach of the public trust placed in individuals holding office.”