A FORMER Essex Police officer has been jailed for four and-a-half years after admitting a series of online child sexual offences.

Former PC Mark Ling, 38, formerly of Ipswich, had pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual communications with a child and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity at Ipswich Crown Court on 18 January.

A reporting restriction was put in place to prevent details of the guilty pleas to be published as there were other ongoing, related matters.

In relation to these matters, he was later charged with a further four counts of sexual communication with a child. He admitted to two of those charges at the same court on 4 February and the other two on 10 February.

The charges all relate to an investigation into the online interactions between Ling and underage girls.

Detectives went through the painstaking task of identifying the girls involved, locating them, and speaking to them securing evidence which left Ling with no option but to admit his guilt.

On Thursday (1 May), he was sentenced to four and-a-half years in prison.

He has also been made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: "I want to pay tribute to the bravery demonstrated by those affected by Mark Ling's actions.

"I want to thank those we identified and spoke to in trusting us with this information and to deal with this dreadful case.

"We police without fear or favour and where a crime is reported we investigate, regardless of who it involves.

"Tackling violence against women and girls is an absolute priority for Essex Police and we take all allegations seriously.

"Specialist detectives and staff have carried out a thorough investigation and ensure those affected are supported.

"Thanks to their work Ling has had no option but to admit to his crimes. Thanks to their professionalism and dedication he is now behind bars".

The Chief Constable added: "Mark Ling is a serial offender who has no place in policing.

"He does not represent the thousands of hardworking, professional, and dedicated officers, staff, and volunteers who work tirelessly each day to keep you safe. I know they are as disgusted at Ling's actions as the public will be.

"We have a dedicated Professional Standards Department who work tirelessly to identify officers who fall below the standards we expect and deal with them robustly.

"We also have one of the toughest vetting units in the country and in 2024 they prevented 143 people from joining the force because they were not right for policing."

Ling was dismissed from Essex Police following an accelerated misconduct hearing on 17 December 2024 chaired by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington.

A reporting restriction was put in place preventing the publication of the details of the hearing until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.

The hearing at Essex Police Headquarters heard allegations that between March 2021 and February 2023 Ling had used false personas to engage in explicit conversations online with other people.

The allegations included he used another person's identity without their consent.

The allegations were found proven and he was dismissed without notice.