Ex-firefighter sentenced over explicit Snapchats to trainees

A former firefighter has been sentenced for sending explicit photos of himself on Snapchat to three trainee colleagues that left them feeling "belittled".

Alastair Iles, who worked for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, was convicted at Southampton Magistrates' Court of three offences of sending the messages between March 2020 and June 2021.

Iles, of Winchester Road in New Milton, has since resigned.

The 37-year-old was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given 60 rehabilitation hours, told to pay £620 court costs and handed a restraining order not to contact the victims for three years.

The images included Iles "engaging in sexualised behaviour", the court heard.

In a victim impact statement, a female victim said: "After this I lost a lot of trust in people, I found it difficult to initiate conversations with people.

"Beforehand, I had a more bubbly personality. It has shut me off, it made me feel vulnerable, I couldn't trust anyone any more, the anxiety made me want to be alone."

One of two male victims said Iles always "had to be the most powerful person in the room", and added he felt "belittled" by him, and the defendant had "damaged the reputation of the fire service we have all worked so hard to maintain".

The third victim said: "The messages caused me some distress. When I attended an incident or worked with him I started to look over my shoulder in case he was about because I didn't know what his intentions were."

Will Day, mitigating, said Iles was of previous good character and added: "He does feel shame and has expressed some regret."

Sentencing Iles, district judge Anthony Callaway said: "The victims were not only colleagues at work but were also trainees.

"You have heard of the power of authority, and with authority comes responsibility and decency, and that has to be used not to exploit or humiliate others at work, and that means the trainees who looked at you to give them an example."

The court heard that Iles had left the fire service in "humiliating circumstances" after the charges.

A Snapchat spokesperson said: "Using Snapchat to send or share sexually explicit content is strictly against our rules, and if we become aware of this content, we remove it immediately.

"We offer quick, easy and confidential in-app reporting tools, have a strike system to remove accounts that repeatedly break our rules and work with police to support their investigations."

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