09-05-2025
Special Constable jailed for storing photos of dying punch victim on Snapchat, sending grim details about fatal car crash to friend and taking photos of police computer records
A grieving widow said a special constable who took photos of video footage of her husband's body as he lay dying in the street 'took his dignity' as he was jailed for 12 months.
William Heggs, 23, a volunteer officer with Leicestershire Police, used his mobile phone to take photographs of body-cam footage showing William Harty, who died after a fight with his brother-in-law in October 2021.
Heggs had attended the scene of the attack when Mr Harty, 28, was found seriously injured and had assisted with resuscitation before paramedics arrived.
The following month, while on duty, Heggs showed the image of Mr Harty to a police constable telling him: 'I know I shouldn't have'.
Heggs had clips of people being restrained, arrested and stop searched; photos of injuries; and of slides showing crime suspects on his phone
Leicester Crown Court heard When Heggs's phone was seized by officers, they found he had 'repeatedly and flagrantly' breached policing rules of which he would have been fully aware due to extensive training.
Prosecutor Cathlyn Orchard told the court that over a period of six months between July and December 2021, Heggs shared graphic details of the injuries suffered by a woman who had died in a road traffic collision to a Snapchat contact.
He also shared body-worn footage of a fellow police officer falling over with another colleague and laughed about it, took photographs and videos which involved a knife seizure, use of a baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He had also taken a photograph showing details of a man who had been convicted of a sexual offence, including his date of birth, and 12 photographs of a police computer screen on his personal mobile phone which showed details of various crimes and suspects, without consent.
The former volunteer, who joined the force part-time in January 2021 as he studied for a policing degree at De Montfort University, kept the photos and videos in a Snapchat folder called 'My eyes only'.
There is nothing to suggest he shared them with anyone on social media, but he did admit showing his mother one of the photographs.
Heggs, who remained suspended from the force from November 2021 until his resignation in October 2024, claimed had neurodiversity issues and told investigators he had taken the photos to help him process his feelings about the incidents.
But he pleaded guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences on the day he was due to stand trial.
He admitted nine counts of causing a computer to perform function to secure/enable unauthorised access to a program or data held in a computer or to enable any such access to be so secured, contrary to sections 1(1) and (3) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and two counts of knowingly/recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data without consent at Leicester Crown Court.
On Friday he was sentenced today to 12 months' imprisonment at the same court.
Mr Harty's widow Mandy Casey was in court. Her brother Martin Casey was jailed for three years and four months in 2022 after admitting manslaughter of her husband.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Casey said she had lost trust in the police and remained scared that she might see photographs of her husband's body appearing on social media.
She said: 'You don't take someone's dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.'
Ms Casey added: 'He took my husband's dignity when he was most vulnerable. When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why.
'He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.'
Judge Timothy Spencer said Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, was 'probably too immature to be working as a police officer' as he jailed him for 12 months.
He said: 'It is clear you did not lack enthusiasm and your policing was, at times, of an exemplary standard, but you lacked maturity.
'You had received extensive training, you knew the importance of data protection and knew you should only share materials for a genuine policing purpose.
'You knew the lines were drawn and the lines were very clear.'
He said Heggs, who appeared in the dock wearing a dark suit and white shirt with pink tie and looked ahead as he was sentenced, had carried out 'repeated and persistent breaches of well-understood boundaries'.
Judge Spencer accepted that Heggs's actions were not out of 'wickedness', but said the defendant's claims that he accessed the material so he could learn from the experience and become a better officer were 'far-fetched'.
He said Heggs's actions had 'significantly undermined' public trust and confidence in the police.
The judge added: 'You have a raft of excellent references and your on-the-ground policing was, at times, absolutely exemplary.
'You could have been a huge asset to the police and to society. There is so much good in you and it is such a tragedy that you have thrown what could have been a really good career away.'
Members of Heggs's family sobbed in the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.
The prosecution followed an initial investigation by Leicestershire Police followed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division, said: 'William Heggs abused the public's trust in the office he held as a special police constable. He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.
'He repeatedly misused his authority to access police computers and flagrantly breached data protection law in disclosing personal data to members of the public.
'He was not authorised to take photographs of body-worn footage on his personal mobile phone nor share that footage with third parties. His actions were insensitive and illegal.
'The CPS will always seek to prosecute this type of offending, and it is only right that William Heggs is punished for his actions.'
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: 'The court heard that ex-special constable Heggs has neurodiversity issues and he told our investigators he had taken the photos to help him process his feelings about the incidents.
'However he would have known from his training that his actions breached data protection rules, and in an apparent bid to hide images of a crime scene body he transferred them to a password protected file on his phone as police arrived at his home to interview him.
'Sharing confidential and sensitive police information in the way that he did was a clear abuse of the power and trust placed in him, and his conviction sends a strong message that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.'
Martin Casey, then 30, accepted unlawfully killing his 'best friend' and brother-in-law 'Billy' Harty, 28, who died following a drunken and drug-fuelled street fight.
He stood trial for murder but was cleared by a jury.
Mr Harty was married to Casey's sister and the two men were described as close friends since childhood.
They were also workmates, who were setting up a roofing and gardening business together.
His trial heard they began fighting in the street following an all-night drinking session, when cocaine was also consumed.
They began grappling before both fell to the ground, where Casey punched him repeatedly.
Officers who arrived at 5.15am found Mr Harty unconscious and unresponsive. They commenced CPR before an ambulance arrived, but Mr Harty died in hospital a short time later.
After being told of the death, Casey handed himself into the police, telling officers they had both been in a fight, but gave 'no comment' interviews.
When he gave evidence in court he said he never intended to seriously injure his brother-in-law but admitted manslaughter.
