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A police inspector who chatted about sexual fantasies involving violently raping and murdering young girls has been jailed for nine years.

Timothy Ryton's crimes came to light in January when Kent Police was contacted following an investigation by the US authorities into another British man.

Ryton, 45, who admitted distributing indecent videos, was described by the judge as "deeply disturbed".

Sentencing him, Judge Anthony Niblett said Ryton's actions were "chilling".

Using a pseudonym, Ryton shared indecent videos and chatted about his violent sexual fantasies, Lewes Crown Court heard.

He was arrested in January and investigated by his colleagues, who found he had used a private messaging website and app on his mobile phone at his home in Kent. He also had been going online using a public guest wi-fi account at Kent Police.

His phone had been used in London, Paris, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Rome during 2016 and January 2017, police said.

Sentencing Ryton, the judge told him: "You engaged in chat that shows, in the most graphic way, what you were going to do to those children.

"Your actions were deliberate, calculated and wicked."

Det Ch Supt Tom Richards said: "It's abhorrent that whilst he was a serving police officer, Ryton committed these type of offences.

"He betrayed the trust placed in him by the public and colleagues."

At an earlier hearing, Ryton, originally from Folkestone, admitted distributing indecent images, voyeurism and making and distributing indecent videos.

He has been sacked by Kent Police.