Top civil servant sentenced over child abuse images

A senior civil servant has avoided a jail sentence after admitting possessing hundreds of indecent images of children.

Marco Salzedo, 59, was sentenced at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Friday after pleading guilty to charges relating to the possession of child abuse images.

Salzedo, from Aylsham, Norfolk, worked for the Cabinet Office at the time of his arrest.

He was sentenced to a 12‑month community order, ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

The offences took place between July 2021 and April 2025, when Salzedo was arrested on suspicion of making/possessing indecent images of children.

He was charged in November, and the following month he admitted possessing 312 images and videos of children, 139 of which were category A, including images of babies.

Salzedo was director of commercial and contract management capability at the Cabinet Office but has since been dismissed.

A spokesperson for the department said: "The individual was suspended after arrest. His employment with the Civil Service has since been terminated."

• Details of support for victims of sexual abuse are available at BBC Action Line

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