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A former police officer taken to court over "extreme pornography" could face a new prosecution following an anti-corruption investigation.
Ryan Connolly has admitted possessing an image that "portrayed in an explicit and realistic" manner an "obscene" act in which a person's life was in danger, as well as pictures of sexual acts being performed on animals.
A Merseyside Police misconduct investigation has revealed he also took a "selfie" at a murder scene and sent racist and homophobic messages.
A court has now heard he could face criminal allegations flowing from that disciplinary inquiry, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Connolly resigned from the police force ahead of a misconduct hearing where, in November, it was ruled he would have been sacked he would have been sacked if he had still been a serving officer.
The 37-year-old was barred from working for the police again.
It has now been revealed that he could face criminal charges in relation to some of the material seen in the disciplinary.
Details emerged as he appeared in Manchester Crown Court over three counts of possessing "extreme pornographic" images.
Offences date back to January and July of 2017.
Henry Riding, prosecuting, said: "As recently as Friday the police have submitted a report but not a file for the Crown Prosecution Service asking them to consider the possibility of criminal proceedings arising out of the material that formed the basis of that gross misconduct hearing."
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Judge Anthony Cross, QC, adjourned the case until January 27.
Connolly had snapped a picture of himself lying in a field while he was meant to be working on a cordon at the scene of a fatal attack on Danny Gee-Jamieson in July 2018.
The 16-year-old was stabbed at The Nook in Gateacre, which led to a murder investigation being launched.
Mr Gee-Jamieson’s mum, Mandy Jamieson, has slammed Connolly for his actions.
She told the ECHO last month: "I just feel like Connolly has made a mockery of my son's death. Like it was all a big joke.”
The former police officer also photographed people detained under the Mental Health Act and while they were being observed in hospital.
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His personal mobile phone was also found to contain depraved images which included racist and homophobic content.
Following the hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley branded Connolly’s actions as an “insult to the uniform”.
He added: “An investigation by our Anti-Corruption Unit uncovered the fact that Connolly had been using his own phone to take photographs of vulnerable people whilst on duty and that the phone also contained appalling homophobic, racist and offensive images.
“It also revealed that Connolly was an associate of a known criminal and had not declared this association.
“His actions are an insult to the uniform and the police service, which consistently strives to protect our communities and provide a professional and inclusive service to the people of Merseyside.”
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