Post by admin on May 10, 2007 2:34:25 GMT 1
A PRIMARY school teacher has admitted receiving child porn pictures on his mobile phone as part of a ‘lurid and crude’ relationship with a female colleague.
The life of Alastair Cameron Clark, of Free Lane, Helmshore, has been left in tatters after he pleaded guilty to five charges of making indecent images of a child.
The 48-year-old father-of-two received a six-month suspended jail sentence, was placed on the sex offenders register and was banned from working with children under 16, effectively ending his career.
Preston Crown Court heard that the deputy headteacher – who had no previous convictions – had attempted suicide as a result of the charges.
Co-accused Alina Franceska Bibby, 56, formerly of Tower View, Belthorn, admitted the same charges, as well as distributing five images and sending an indecent text message.
June Morris, prosecuting, told the court how the pair, who are both married, had met in the 1990s while working at a school in Oswaldtwistle.
They developed a text-based relationship involving sexual fantasies; this escalated in explicit content, ultimately including children.
They were caught after Bibby sent indecent pictures to Clark of a child aged under five. These were discovered on Clark’s mobile phone by Carphone Warehouse staff when he took it to the shop last September; police were informed.
He told officers he and reception class teacher Bibby had participated in sexual fantasies, some involving young children. While in custody, he received a further explicit text message in which Bibby made indecent remarks about schoolchildren.
Joseph Hart, defending Clark, said: ‘These images arose from a lurid and crude relationship with the co-defendant.’
He added that the images got cruder and cruder as the ‘increasingly unpleasant’ relationship developed.
Mr Hart added: ‘He can’t explain why he kept the images rather than simply deleting them.’
His 20-year marriage was ruined, but he and his wife were remaining friendly for the benefit of their two children, who were under no threat.
Mr Hart said his client had tried to commit suicide, adding: ‘Whatever sentence he receives will be nothing to the sentence he has already given himself. He has destroyed his life.’
Lisa Roberts, defending Bibby, previously bailed to an address in Hartsop, Cumbria, said she had been going through an emotionally and physically difficult time when she met Clark.
She was flattered by the attention from the younger man and fell prey to his charm. Miss Roberts added that there was no commercial gain, the images were not intended for widespread distribution and Bibby had 30 years of impeccable teaching credentials.
Judge Anthony Russell QC sentenced both defendants to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, a ten-year order banning them from working with children under 16 or having unsupervised contact with children under 16; they were also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and each ordered to pay £200 costs.
He said: ‘You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves and I accept that you are ashamed of yourselves.
‘You had hitherto implacable characters and each of you has fallen a long way from the high esteem in which you were held.’
George Oliver
First published by the Rossendale Free Press
The life of Alastair Cameron Clark, of Free Lane, Helmshore, has been left in tatters after he pleaded guilty to five charges of making indecent images of a child.
The 48-year-old father-of-two received a six-month suspended jail sentence, was placed on the sex offenders register and was banned from working with children under 16, effectively ending his career.
Preston Crown Court heard that the deputy headteacher – who had no previous convictions – had attempted suicide as a result of the charges.
Co-accused Alina Franceska Bibby, 56, formerly of Tower View, Belthorn, admitted the same charges, as well as distributing five images and sending an indecent text message.
June Morris, prosecuting, told the court how the pair, who are both married, had met in the 1990s while working at a school in Oswaldtwistle.
They developed a text-based relationship involving sexual fantasies; this escalated in explicit content, ultimately including children.
They were caught after Bibby sent indecent pictures to Clark of a child aged under five. These were discovered on Clark’s mobile phone by Carphone Warehouse staff when he took it to the shop last September; police were informed.
He told officers he and reception class teacher Bibby had participated in sexual fantasies, some involving young children. While in custody, he received a further explicit text message in which Bibby made indecent remarks about schoolchildren.
Joseph Hart, defending Clark, said: ‘These images arose from a lurid and crude relationship with the co-defendant.’
He added that the images got cruder and cruder as the ‘increasingly unpleasant’ relationship developed.
Mr Hart added: ‘He can’t explain why he kept the images rather than simply deleting them.’
His 20-year marriage was ruined, but he and his wife were remaining friendly for the benefit of their two children, who were under no threat.
Mr Hart said his client had tried to commit suicide, adding: ‘Whatever sentence he receives will be nothing to the sentence he has already given himself. He has destroyed his life.’
Lisa Roberts, defending Bibby, previously bailed to an address in Hartsop, Cumbria, said she had been going through an emotionally and physically difficult time when she met Clark.
She was flattered by the attention from the younger man and fell prey to his charm. Miss Roberts added that there was no commercial gain, the images were not intended for widespread distribution and Bibby had 30 years of impeccable teaching credentials.
Judge Anthony Russell QC sentenced both defendants to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, a ten-year order banning them from working with children under 16 or having unsupervised contact with children under 16; they were also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and each ordered to pay £200 costs.
He said: ‘You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves and I accept that you are ashamed of yourselves.
‘You had hitherto implacable characters and each of you has fallen a long way from the high esteem in which you were held.’
George Oliver
First published by the Rossendale Free Press