THE CPS has welcomed the sentence given out to a former British Transport Police worker from Quinton who shared a photo of a teenager’s dead body with friends via a WhatsApp group.

Joshua Tilt, who previously worked for British Transport Police as a call handler taking initial calls from the public, was sentenced to two years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office.

Tilt, aged 31, of Lye Close Lane, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday December 14 for sharing a photo of the dead body of 18-year-old RAF Cadet Lewis Williams who had taken his own life by stepping onto a train track in Slough on June 21.

Giovanni D’Alessandro of the CPS said after the sentencing hearing: “As a holder of public office, Joshua Tilt’s actions are inexcusable and are a serious breach of trust.

“He distributed the disturbing image to others with no thought for the distress it might cause the family and friends of the deceased and in doing so he showed an inexplicable lack of empathy.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased who I am aware have experienced immense and ongoing distress due to his actions.”

He added that he hoped the sentence would “act as a deterrent to other public servants who may be tempted to abuse the trust that has been placed in them”.

Tilt, who only had access to the highly sensitive image due to his role as a police staff member, had been reported to BTP’s Professional Standards Department after telling a colleague that he had sent a picture of the image to his girlfriend.

Tilt was then arrested on June 30 and he admitted sending the image on a WhatsApp group chat to 12 people.

He was later dismissed without notice on July 14.