AN ex-police officer who now works as a civilian specialist tackling online sex abusers has pleaded guilty to misusing a computer system on two occasions.

Shaun Storey accessed confidential information on Cleveland Police’s computer network in a bid to help secure his son employment as a police officer.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 57-year-old carried out unofficial checks on January 2 and 22, 2019, to enhance his son’s prospects.

He was due to stand trial charged with two counts of causing a computer to perform a function to secure or enable unauthorised access to a program/data, namely he carried out an unauthorised search of 'Niche' but changed his plea to guilty this morning.

The court heard the former officer worked as a computer specialist for the force before his retirement and then subsequently returned as a staff member working on tracking down online sex offenders.

Storey, of Guisborough, will be sentenced later today.

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