A VOLUNTEER Metropolitan Police sergeant and school teacher has been jailed for two years after he was caught on camera molesting a young boy.
Special Sergeant Craig Keane, 28, pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday, February 20.
Keane, of Grange Road in Wickford, admitted during a hearing in February that he had lifted the sleeping six-year-old boy’s pyjama bottoms and sexually touched him eight times between 12.37am and 12.39am on October 2 of last year.
The other seven charges relate to touching between 12.43am and 1.40am.
On Monday, March 20, he was jailed for two years and ordered to serve 10 years on the Sex Offenders Register at the same court.
He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite time period.
The abuse does not relate to any of the pupils at the school where Keane taught.
The court heard how the "exemplary" Essex teacher was filmed on a mobile phone hidden behind a curtain by another frightened youngster after the first attack, as he socialised with his victim's father, Essex Live reports.
Before setting up the camera, the child said: "I always thought he was creepy and now I don't feel safe in my house."
Keane was then captured making a series of visits to the boy's bedroom over a period of 90 minutes to repeatedly touch his sleeping victim.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard Keane had been socialising with the boy's father during the evening of October 2 last year.
After the victim was put to bed, Keane repeatedly excused himself to go upstairs to the toilet before entering the boy's bedroom.
He first checked to see if the other children in the room were asleep before touching the victim while pleasuring himself.
After Keane's first assault, the boy who placed the camera, said to the phone: "I might be a bit dramatic, but what Craig did was check to see if I was awake, he looked at me, turned around, and then pulled his trousers down.
"I've found a good place to set it up, and I'm going to bed, I'm going to keep it on like this. For now, bye."
The boy fell asleep and when he checked the phone the next morning, he saw it had recorded Keane's repeated attacks.
He showed the footage to his parents, they reported Keane to the police.
Nicholas Wayne, prosecuting, said Keane entered the bedroom on 14 occasions and touched the boy nine times.
Mr Wayne said: "Keane was at the home of the child, drinking, and socialising with the family and with their father.
"Their father had no idea at all that he was visiting the bedroom.
"He said he was going to the bathroom and then used that as a pretext for going into the boy's bedroom."
Keane, who has lost his jobs as a teacher and special constable, says he cannot remember the events of that night because he was drinking heavily.
Passing sentence, Judge Murray Shanks said: "It is right to say this was a gross breach of trust.
"You were in their home, socialising with the father and you took advantage of that position to sexually assault his young son.
"At around midnight, one boy was watching a video on his phone under his covers and saw you enter the room.
"He pretended to be asleep."
Keane also worked during the summer holidays with the Met Police's predatory offences unit.
It was there that for eight days, he observed the grading process of indecent images of children.
His defence barrister, Heather Oliver, said he was not sexually attracted to young boys, and was a role model prior to the arrest.
She said: "He had been, by all accounts an exemplary teacher. All of that promise and hard work of his has been completely laid to waste by this."
He muttered a few parting words to his family as he was led to the cells.
Keane was charged on Thursday, January 27 following an investigation led by the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.
During the process, Keane was suspended as a Special.
Met Police have said his case be will subject to a fast track Special Case Hearing where the appropriate outcome will be considered by the hearing panel.
The role of a MSC officer is a voluntary and unpaid.
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