November 2018: A detective responsible for investigating child abuse has been dismissed from West Midlands Police after admitting sex offences involving a girl. Marcus O’Dell was dismissed with immediate effect by a misconduct hearing yesterday October 2018 West Midlands Police officer admits sex offence A police officer who investigated child abuse cases faces a jail term after admitting a sex offence involving a girl. Detective MarcusJeffrey O’Dell, who is a West Midlands Police officer, pleaded guilty to voyeurism when he appeared at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. The 46-year-old, who works in the force’s public protection unit, which investigates sex offences and monitors paedophiles in the community faces up to 18 months behind bars for the offence. He was released on conditional bail and is due to be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on a date to be fixed. Detectives from Staffordshire Police arrested him at his Stafford home in Marston Road in May. He was also charged with two counts of assault by beating which have since been dropped by prosecutors. The detective is understood to have worked for the force for 26 years and has been based in West Bromwich. O’Dell, who admitted observing a person doing a private act between May 2016 and 2018, was handed an interim order forcing him to sign the sex offenders register.