Latest Offenders

Description

 A "SCANDALOUS loophole" in the law has forced police to take legal action to ban a convicted paedophile from working with children.

Gavin Seagers (pictured), aged 34, was one of eight British men arrested when detectives busted international paedophile cyber-porn ring The Wonderland Club.

The sting in 1998 was the largest international police operation ever and led to 107 arrests in 12 countries and the seizure of 750,000 images of 1,200 children.

Seagers, a former youth leader at Dartford Sea Cadets, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute indecent images of children.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and freed after one.

Seagers was placed on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

Last month, the Daily Mirror duped Seagers, a computer consultant, into meeting reporters at a flat in Dartford.

Seagers believed he would be tutoring a young boy, after he advertised his services online.

He admitted he should not be left alone in a room with a child.

Seagers denied ever abusing a youngster but said he could not help fantasising about it.

Following the article's publication, Kent police applied to Dartford Magistrates' Court for an interim order, which was granted on May 11.

Seagers, who lives in Swanscombe, was banned from seeking and accepting work, including tutoring, with children under the age of 16.

Deputy council leader Councillor Jeremy Kite said: "It is scandalous this loophole exists.

"I don't think he received a significant enough sentence or was given the right order when he was first convicted.

The interim court order is valid until August 11 this year.

Description

A former Sunday school teacher and devout Christian has been jailed after he admitted performing oral sex on an underage girl.

A court heard the 47-year-old groomed the teenager for sexual acts back at his home while his wife was out at work.

This included showering naked before her, inviting her into his bed, touching and kissing her and oral sex.

The court heard how the man, a member of a Christian church in Cornwall, said afterwards to his pastor that he "had sinned and had been crying out to our lord for forgiveness.”

Appearing for sentence at Truro Crown Court on Tuesday was Paul Stephen Bickerstaff, of Bownder Vean, Bethel, St Austell.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual touching of a child, which happened last year. The girl cannot be identified due to her age and as the victim of a sexual offence.

Piers Norsworthy, prosecuting, said Bickerstaff told the teenager that they were soul mates and complimented her on her hair and appearance. He said Bickerstaff then sexually assaulted the girl at his home.

“He took her in his arms and lifted her off the sofa,” he said. “He put her down but grabbed her by the thighs and steered her towards his bedroom. She got into his bed and he, naked, got into bed with her.

“He asked her about sexual preferences and they began to kiss. She stopped and pushed him away. He then undid her bra.”

Mr Norsworthy said the girl asked him three times to stop, which he did initially but then continued each time.

“He did perform oral sex on her, which lasted between five and ten minutes.” he added.

On another occasion, Bickerstaff kissed the girl after they climbed to the top of the beauty spot Roche Rock.

Afterwards, the girl told her parents what had happened and Bickerstaff confessed to his pastor. Mr Norsworthy said Bickerstaff had previously worked as a Sunday school teacher and was now employed as a gardener.

In her personal impact statement, the girl said she felt “dirty and stupid” about what had happened, which had affected her self-confidence. She said: “I couldn’t bear it any more but I did not want to talk to the police. I felt, and still feel, guilty about what happened – guilty at being manipulated again and again.”

Barry Hilliard, representing Bickerstaff, said his client had a troubled upbringing, being the victim of physical and emotional abuse as a child. He said Bickerstaff left home at 18 and joined the army for three years, where he served in Northern Ireland.

“More recently, he had found comfort in the church and found his wife through the church,” he added.

Bickerstaff had been having troubles in his marriage at the time of the offence and his mental health had been affected, he said.

“When he looks back at what he’s done, at the time he thought there was a connection between himself and the child,” he said. “Now he can see it was all in his head. He looks at what he’s done and just can’t understand it.”

Mr Hilliard said Bickerstaff, of previous good character, was being supported by his wife and his church, and handed in to the court letters of reference.

Crediting Bickerstaff for his honesty, Judge Robert Linford said to him: “I acknowledge that many people in your position would have denied these offences or said nothing. You did not. You confessed to what you had done and you expressed remorse and apology. I’ve read references from people who speak highly of you and cannot believe you acted in the way you did.”

However, he said the offences were so serious that an immediate custodial sentence could not be overlooked.

Bickerstaff was jailed for two years and will serve half that time before being eligible for release.

He will also be registered as a sex offender and was made the subject of sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Description

A multimillionaire property investor who indecently assaulted a 16-year-old girl has been jailed for a year.John Currell, 43, was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, and was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

The court was told he had given the girl a lift home, touched her and encouraged her to take her top off.

Currell, from Lisvane in Cardiff, who is married with two children, is said to be worth £16m.

Sentencing, judge Mark Furness told Currell he had known "full well" the teenager did not want him to be in her house.

"You endeavoured to create a sexual liaison with her and invited her to take her clothes off," he said.

'Little secret'

Prosecuting, Nicholas Gareth-Jones said: "He [Currell] invited her on a number of occasions to take her top off - the girl refused.

"Eventually he touched her breasts, stomach and back in a way that was deliberate and indecent."

The court heard Currell had stayed with the girl until 5.30 in the morning, and later called her to say that the incident should be "their little secret."

Speaking from the dock, Currell made a full apology to the girl, saying he would "like to say sorry for upsetting her".

Morgan Jenkins, defending, said Currell's reputation "had suffered terribly" as a result of the case.

"He is worried about the impact custody will have on his family and business acquaintances," he said.

Description

A retired community policeman has been jailed for 12 years for a string of sex attacks on a schoolgirl. Pc Kevin Williams, 50, from Taffs Well, near Cardiff, visited schools as part of his job.

But a court heard it was only after he retired that other officers in South Wales Police discovered he had carried out a seven-year reign of abuse.

He raped and forced a 15-year-old girl to dress up for pornographic pictures, warning her not to tell anyone.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that he told the girl : "Who would believe you? I am the police."

"Apart from being a disgraceful abuser you clearly are a paedophile" Judge Jonathan Durham Hall.

His victim, now aged 30, told the court how Williams made her dress up for lurid photographs.

She came forward to give evidence years later, after receiving counselling.

Williams, who retired after 16 years with South Wales Police in 2001, was convicted of indecent assault, rape, a serious sexual assault, and making indecent photos.

The court heard he was a keen photographer and took pictures of naked models.

Pictures he had taken were discovered in Williams' car by mechanics when he took it to be serviced.

More pictures - of a half-naked woman - were discovered hidden under the carpet by a couple who bought a house from him.

He had converted the garage of the house into a darkroom to process his own photographs.

'Systematic abuse'

When questioned, Williams admitted he took nude photos of women, but explained: "I don't find anything wrong as long as they are old enough and willing."

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told him: "You were, on the face of it, an outstanding police officer, but little did the public know that you were systematically abusing this girl.

"These charges were bad examples of your disgusting and utterly vile conduct. Apart from being a disgraceful abuser you clearly are a paedophile.

"You threatened your victim by saying nobody would believe her and, to cap it all you said "Who can you complain to? I am the police?"

Jailing Williams for 12 years, the judge ordered him to register as a sex offender and banned him from working with children.

Description

A teaching assistant who groomed a 13-year-old girl for sex is believed to be the first sex offender to be sentenced under tough new legislation. Jamie Gunn, 25, of Haverhill, Suffolk, admitted seven offences and was jailed for three years.

He was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court under new laws aimed at tackling paedophiles.

They said under old laws the sentence passed down would have been no more than a year in length.

Gunn pleaded guilty to offences of grooming, sexual touching and sexual activity - charges introduced as part of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The act, which came into force in May, increased the penalty for having sex with a child aged between 13 and 16 from a two-year maximum to a 14-year maximum. Having sex with a girl aged under 13 carries a maximum life sentence.

The act also introduced the offence of sexual grooming - designed to combat the activities of paedophiles who use internet chatrooms to contact children.

The court was told Gunn was an information technology specialist at the school and the girl had initially made contact with him via email.

But Judge John Holt said the girl was in no way to blame for what had happened and that Gunn had to bear the responsibility for grooming her then meeting her for sex.

He banned Gunn from working with children indefinitely and ordered him to sign the Sexual Offenders' Register.

He said Gunn would serve half his three-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

'Stupid mistake'

The court heard Gunn's offences had come to light after the girl's mother saw something suspicious on her computer.

Robert Sadd, prosecuting, said the two had exchanged explicit text and email messages over about a month.

Mr Sadd said Gunn had not forced the girl to have sex and had asked whether she was sure about taking such a step.

Roger Harrison, for Gunn, said his client had made a full admission to police, taking the blame and saying it was "a stupid mistake".

He said Gunn had not gone to work at the school with the intention of meeting young girls and did not believe he had paedophile tendencies.

Description

A paedophile who boasted of beating his own "record" of sexually abusing 142 boys in a year, has been given a life sentence at Plymouth Crown Court.

William Goad, 60, of Ford Park Road, Plymouth, was described in court as a "voracious, calculating, predatory and violent" paedophile.

Goad had pleaded guilty to 14 specimen counts of serious sexual assault and two counts of indecent assault.

The first count of abuse admitted by Goad took place in 1965.

Goad also received a concurrent 12-month sentence for obtaining a passport by deception in 1998.

"It is believed there has been no single defendant with more victims that this man" Martin Meeke QC.

He had admitted obtaining a passport by deception "with a view to escaping from this country and escaping the consequences of what he had done", the court was told.

Martin Meeke QC, prosecuting, said Goad groomed his victims by offering them well-paid jobs in his shop and inviting them back to his home.

The court was told he once boasted of beating his own "record" of sexually abusing 142 boys in one year - a claim denied by the defendant.

Mr Meeke said Goad abused some of his victims three to four times a week for two to three years.

He said: "Goad has been a voracious, calculating, predatory and violent paedophile for 40 years.

"It is believed there has been no single defendant with more victims than this man."

'Life means life'

Goad claimed he had himself been sexually abused at school, but he refused to help a police investigation into the allegations.

Passing sentence, Judge William Taylor said Goad was a "dangerous paedophile".

He gave Goad credit for pleading guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing in September, but said he was in no doubt that Goad posed an ongoing serious danger to young men.

Judge Taylor said: "I make it as plain as I can that you will not be released until the authorities are perfectly satisfied that you no longer pose any threat to anyone.

"It may well mean in your case life will mean just that."

The hearing was regularly punctuated with angry shouts from the public gallery, which was packed with Goad's victims and their families.

Description

A karate instructor who fled to Spain during his trial on sex abuse charges against teenagers in his care has been jailed for six years and eight months. Graham Phillips, 53, from Hill Ridware, near Rugeley, Staffs, went on the run 10 days into his trial last December.

Phillips was then convicted of nine indecent assaults and given a six-year prison sentence in his absence.

He was extradited to Britain from Majorca on Monday and has been given an eight-month term for breaching bail.

"This has brought a sense of closure to the victims who Phillips preyed upon" Insp Nick Lakin.

Phillips, formerly of Uttoxeter Road, Hill Ridware, was arrested last month and appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Tuesday after being held in custody overnight.

He had denied 10 counts of indecent assault against girls aged between 13 and 16 at his trial in December but was convicted of seven offences.

He also denied two further counts of rape, although the jury instead returned guilty verdicts of indecent assault on those charges.

Phillips was also banned from working with children and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

'Rebuild' lives

Insp Nick Lakin, who led the initial investigation, said: "Phillips is a dangerous, manipulative paedophile who was determined to escape justice at any cost.

"It has taken several months to trace him and bring him back to Britain and we would like to thank the public for their co-operation in the investigation.

"This has brought a sense of closure to the victims who Phillips preyed upon.

"Hopefully now they and their families can begin to rebuild their lives."

Description

An ex-hotel porter and child abuser who killed an elderly couple in a hotel arson attack has been jailed for life. The judge at Liverpool Crown Court described Lee Carson as an "extremely dangerous young man".

Carson, 24, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, was found guilty of manslaughter after the fire at the Moat House Hotel, Bolton, in April 2001.

William Robertson, 75 and his wife Margaret, 81, from Blackpool, Lancashire, both died in the fire.

Carson was caught after telling friends he started the blaze at the hotel, which was caused when he set fire to mattresses in a corridor.

The couple were on holiday when they died

The bodies of Mr Robertson and his wife were found in a corridor after the attack.

They both died from smoke inhalation.

An inquest jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in September 2003.

Carson had denied starting the fire and pleaded not guilty to murder and two alternative charges of the manslaughter of Mr and Mrs Robertson.

In February a jury took just under four hours to find him guilty of the manslaughter of the couple but acquitted him of murder.

Convicted sex offender

Carson had previously been convicted of indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl in 1998.

He is currently serving four-and-a-half years for another indecent assault on a young girl in May 2002 and will serve at least 15 years after being given two life sentences for manslaughter.

Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Cook from Greater Manchester Police, who led the investigation said: " We are pleased that a very dangerous man has been removed from the streets for a long time.

"Lee Carson admitted his involvement to those close to him yet he still refused to plead guilty.

"I hope that the victims and families of the victims involved in the fire will now be able to move on with their lives knowing that justice has today been served and that Lee Carson will have a long time in prison to reflect on his actions that tragic night."

Description

Email any photographs of the offender to [email protected]

A paedophile has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years for sexually abusing two young girls.

Keith Morris, 63, whose address was given as Beechtrees, Digmoor, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, was convicted on two counts of indecent assault .

The jury at Preston Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on a rape charge. Morris, who had been living in Berwick-on-Tweed, denied the abuse charges.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life.

Morris has also been banned from working with children on his release.

'Conspiracy' rejected

Sentencing, Judge Peter Openshaw QC told Morris he posed an obvious risk to children.

Morris had claimed he was the victim of a "wicked conspiracy", but Judge Openshaw said his failure to admit the charges showed he had not shown the "slightest regret or remorse".

The charges dated back over a number of years.

His barrister David Owen said Morris suffered from angina, diabetes and anaemia, which would make the sentence much harsher.

But Judge Openshaw said the sentence reflected what were "very serious offences".

Morris also faced several other charges of downloaded child porn from the internet.

It was ordered those allegations should lie on his file.

Description

The dismembered body of a former teacher jailed for abusing pupils has been found in a garden in Edinburgh. Lothian and Borders Police have named the victim as 51-year-old registered sex offender Alan Wilson. It is understood his legs had been severed.

Detectives launched a murder hunt after the discovery was made on Tuesday.

The body was found at the rear of a communal garden area in Merchiston Avenue at its junction with Polwarth Terrace.

Mr Wilson, of North Bridge, Edinburgh, was a principal history teacher at Edinburgh's respected James Gillespie's High School until he was suspended in February 1999 when a mother complained that he had plied her son with drink.

 "It's shocking anyone should end up like that" Det Supt Bert Swanson. He resigned from his job after an investigation revealed repeated sex abuse on boys after making them drunk.

He was jailed for 18 months in 2000 after being convicted of carrying out homosexual acts on three of his pupils.

The court heard that he committed eight sex assaults on the boys, aged 16 or 17, over a period of five years.

Detective Superintendent Bert Swanson, of Lothian and Borders Police, said it was one of the most brutal crimes he had encountered.

He said: "The body was dismembered and found in several parts, concealed in bags and it's shocking anyone should end up like that.

"It's brutal and distressing, particularly for the relatives, for them to realise that their beloved person, someone they love dearly, has been found in such a way."

Mr Swanson added that police were "keeping an open mind" and said it was too early to tell whether the fact Mr Wilson was a registered sex offender was related to his death.

Officers were carrying out door-to-door enquiries in a bid to piece together the events surrounding the murder.

Forensic specialists completed their scene of crime investigation on Tuesday afternoon.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said detectives were following a "positive line of enquiry".

He added: "A post-mortem was carried out to establish the exact cause of death.

"We would appeal to anyone who lives in the area and who may have seen anything suspicious in the last few days to contact us."

Description

A serial paedophile from north Wales who preyed on and abused young boys over a 33-year period has been jailed for three years.

Robert Tecwyn Hughes, 53, of Blaenau Ffestiniog, appeared before Caernarfon Crown Court for sentence on Friday.

He had pleading guilty to two charges of committing and two of inciting acts of gross indecency.

Hughes asked for 15 similar offences involving boys and young men to be taken into consideration.

Prosecutor Tom Morgan Jones told the court the scale of the abuse emerged after Hughes' behaviour towards a teenager who visited his home.

'Terrified'

He said the boy had been "terrified" when Hughes produced a bottle of beer and switched on a pornographic video.

Hughes said he would tell the boy's mother he had been drinking and watching "blue" movies if the teenager told her what had gone on.

"The whole object is to ensure you have no contact with young children ever again" Judge Huw Daniel.

But the youngster confided in his best friend and the matter came to light.

Mr Morgan Jones said the boy's complaint "opened the floodgates" to further allegations by others who had been abused by Hughes.

"Each thought they were alone in that experience until they realised other complaints had been forthcoming."

Defence barrister Duncan Bould said Hughes had been a victim turned abuser.

Judge Huw Daniel told Hughes his crimes were "abhorrent."

'Suffering'

He said: "It was a deliberate act of grooming to see how far you could take something you knew was wrong."

The judge said he understood Hughes had been sexually abused when he was younger but told him: "That should have made you more determined not to inflict the same suffering on others."

Hughes must register as a sex offender for life and is banned from entering any home where children are present or from working with children.

The judge said: "The whole object of these directions is to ensure you have no contact with young children and don't have the temptation of doing anything to them ever again."

Outside the court, the mother of a child who originally reported Hughes to the police praised her son for coming forward.

She criticised the sentence as being too lenient: "He deserves more after what he's put everyone through."

Description

Ian Huntley was a sexual predator obsessed with young girls, it can be revealed today.

The Old Bailey jury knew he had been charged with raping a teenager - a charge that was later dropped.

What they did not know is that he was also accused of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old and having sex with a string of other schoolgirls.

In total, he came to the attention of Humberside Police on ten occasions.

These comprised the rape allegation, an arrest for not appearing at court and eight other offences allegedly committed by Huntley.

In addition, between August 1995 and July 1998 he was reported to North East Lincolnshire Social Services on five separate occasions - once for the alleged indecent assault and four times for underage sex with girls.

Three of the girls involved were aged 15 and one was 13.

Each time social workers began investigating Huntley would move on and pick up another girl.

Incredibly, no link was made between the cases because each was dealt with by different social workers and they kept no record of alleged offenders.

Three of the underage sex allegations cases were passed on, independently of each other, to Humberside Police.

The first allegation of sex with a schoolgirl was made by her family in August 1995 when Huntley was 21.

In April 1996 social services became aware of another girl involved with Huntley whose family reported their concerns to her school.

The girl refused to speak to social workers and avoided them.

She was eventually seen by her GP who decided there was no further need for social workers to be involved.

There were two further allegations to social services from the families of other girls, both in May 1996, before the indecent assault was reported in July 1998.

The alleged indecent assault victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 12 at the time the allegation was made but 11 when the assault was alleged to have happened in 1997.

Humberside Police investigated the allegation but never sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for lawyers to consider criminal action against Huntley.

The allegation came a month after Huntley had appeared in court in Grimsby charged with raping another girl, a petite 18-year-old.

That case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Huntley, who was by then 24, was accused of pouncing on the girl in a back alley, dragging her to the ground and launching a vicious sex attack.

He stood in the dock at Grimsby magistrates court at two hearings before prosecutors decided they did not have enough evidence to continue.

The woman, who still lives in Grimsby, had been on a night out with friends at Hollywoods nightclub.

She was walking home alone down a back street called Gas Alley when she was attacked at 2am on May 17, 1998.

The teenager, who also suffered cuts, was said by police afterwards to be traumatised and in a state of "shock and anger".

Officers said it was an opportunist attack and warned then that the rapist might strike again.

Huntley was arrested and charged within days of the girl telling police about her ordeal.

He appeared in court on May 22, 1998, and was remanded in custody to the Wolds prison before being granted bail on May 30. He went to a bail hostel in Scunthorpe.

On June 30, 1998 the CPS decided it no longer had a strong enough case against him after new evidence came to light and the case was discontinued.

The new evidence involved CCTV footage which supported Huntley's version of events.

A CPS spokeswoman defended the decision to drop the rape charge.

She said: "There was not sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."

Jim Leivers, the chief executive of North East Lincolnshire Council, defended social workers' handling of Huntley.

Mr Leivers said: "The five cases were from different areas, involved different circumstances and were handled by different people, who had no reason to cross-refer with one another."

He said none of the girls would make a complaint about Huntley, to whom they referred as their "boyfriend".

"We are not here to arrest offenders, we are interested in protecting youngsters," he said.

"We were confident these were good parents and we saw no reason to continue involvement.

"This is a character that as soon anybody gets a sniff, he was off.

"He was particularly keen not to get involved with any agencies like social services and police.

"There were no allegations of violence or coercion. That just didn't happen."

Huntley also appeared in court once charged with burglary.

On January 7 1998 he stood in the dock at Grimsby Crown Court charged with burgling a neighbour's house in Florence Street, Grimsby.

The offence was alleged to have happened in November, 1995 with an accomplice called Jimmy Dean.

Huntley and Dean were alleged to have stolen perfume, jewellery, a Black and Decker heat gun and 20 cash after breaking into the neighbour's house through a shared roof space.

The case came to court more than two years after the burglary and the prosecution and judge decided to allow the matter to lie on file.

That decision meant that when police checks were made on Huntley after he applied for the caretaker's job at Soham Village College, he was found to have no criminal convictions.

Allowing it to lie on file was described by a senior officer in the Soham case as "bizarre".

Description

The father of Stephen Downing has been jailed for eight months for indecently assaulting a teenage girl with a mental age of eight. Ray Downing, 69, of Bakewell, Derbyshire, told Derby Crown Court he was teaching the teenager about sex.

Downing - whose son was wrongly jailed for 27 years for murder - befriended the 17-year-old girl in September 2001.

The court was told that the pensioner was naked in her bedroom and Downing admitted inappropriate physical contact took place.

Other charges

Sentencing, Judge Peter Stretton said: "You imposed yourself on an inadequate family and you used your dominance to behave in the way that has been described to me.

"That anyone could have believed that your behaviour was sexual education is beyond belief."

Downing, who collapsed in the dock as he was sentenced, must serve an extended licence period of three years and four months and will be subject to the terms of the Sexual Offenders Act for 10 years.

Fifteen other charges of indecent assault against five other women will remain on file.

'Huge pressure'

His defence solicitor said the family had suffered stress over the 27 years his son was in jail for the murder of a woman in a Bakewell cemetery.

Stephen Downing's conviction was found unsafe in 2001.

Speaking after the case, Stephen Downing, 47, said his father did not deserve jail and vowed to support him.

He said: "I am saddened that the judge has decided to send my father to prison.

"He is not a paedophile or sexual predator and this sad business has come about because of his stupidity and the huge pressures he has been under in the last 30 years."

Description

A senior doctor who downloaded over 1,600 pornographic images of children has blamed it on pressure of work and depression, a court has heard. Consultant radiologist Charles Bartlett, 49, of Ferryside, Llanelli, had admitted 17 charges of making and possessing indecent photographs of children.

Cardiff Crown Court was told a depressive illness "disinhibited" a persistent interest Bartlett had in pornography.

He avoided a jail sentence but was ordered to carry out a three-year community rehabilitation order, which includes treatment for sex offenders.

He was also banned from working with children, put on the sex offender's register for five years and prohibited from using computers without permission from probation officers.

He was ordered to pay £800 prosecution costs and an unnamed amount of defence costs.

Anxiety

The judge, Mr Justice Christopher Pitchford, said the loss of Bartlett's reputation and job was "a punishment that will last for the rest of your life".

"The illness disinhibited your interest in pornography and its cause was primarily the burden you undertook in your working life" Mr Justice Pitchford.

He was not considered to be danger to the public and his "distorted thinking" would be attended to by his sentence, the judge added.

"You were suffering from an illness throughout the time these offences were committed," he said.

"The illness disinhibited your interest in pornography and its cause was primarily the burden you undertook in your working life."

A GP's report from April 2002 said the consultant was suffering anxiety, depression, anorexia and insomnia.

Bartlett, who is serving out his notice at West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen, was arrested in June as part of a worldwide hunt for paedophiles known as Operation Ore.

Material taken from his home revealed he had saved more than 1,600 indecent images.

Testimonials

Mr Justice Pitchford said: "These images are only available through the corruption and coercion of children.

"You are experienced and intelligent enough to have known this."

The court heard 10 of Bartlett's senior colleagues gave testimonials about the quality of his work during 16 years with Carmarthenshire NHS Trust.

"Your secret interest had no observable effect in your dealings with patients, in particular children," the judge added.

Bartlett said in a letter partially read in a previous hearing: "I wish to apologise to all my patients, and the parents of any younger patients, and assure them that the part of my life that brought me to this was always completely separate."

Description

PREP TEACHER TRIAL: DEPRAVED teacher Peter Hamilton-Leggett lured young schoolboys into his bedroom before carrying out brutal sex attacks on them, a court heard.

The retired biology and chemistry teacher, of Old Station Lane, Yelverton, Devon, admitted 54 charges of abuse on boys as young as eight.

On Tuesday, some of the 58-year-old's victims attended Swindon Crown Court and watched as he was sentenced to eight years in prison for the catalogue of sex offences.

It took more than an hour to read the charges, and, dressed in a suit, Hamilton-Leggett spoke only to confirm his name. His wife, Pauline, kept her eyes closed as the court heard details of each of his depraved acts. Thirteen former pupils of the Old Ride Preparatory School, Bradford on Avon, and six former pupils of Lambrook School in Bracknell, Berkshire, made complaints, dating back to a 15-year period between 1970 and 1985.

The paedophile investigation, headed by Det Sgt David Martin, is believed to be the biggest of its kind in the county.

It was the third investigation into the teacher's sick behaviour the other two failed because of a lack of evidence.

Don Tait, prosecuting, said Hamilton-Leggett's reign of terror began shortly after he started teaching at the Old Ride School, aged 26.

Preying on vulnerable, lonely pupils, he singled out his 'favourites' and would invite them back to his room offering them treats or telling them they could play on his computer. Once he had earned their trust he began systematically abusing them, playing what was described as a 'bravery test game', running his fingers down boys' bodies until they told him to stop.

Mr Tait said: "His fingers passed below the boy's throat and moved down his body, inviting the boy to say stop when his courage ran out."

Unless a pupil resisted, Hamilton-Leggett's behaviour would escalate, performing crude sex acts himself or he asked boys to gratify him.

Some victims were also pinned on the bed while the teacher seriously sexually assaulted them.

Mr Tait described one attack during a boy's last day at Old Ride School. "The experience was incredibly painful, he kept thinking he was going to die," he said. "Although he was crying the defendant carried on until he had his way.

"He then took him to meet his mother, wished him all the best for the future and nothing was said thereafter."

Mr Tait said other victims described how Hamilton-Leggett had made them feel special until they asked him to stop, and how the teacher was respected and trusted by pupils, parents and staff.

He asked his victims to keep quiet about their agonising abuse.

Sentencing Hamilton-Leggett Judge Thomas Longbotham spoke of the lives he had ruined and how he had denied the abuse during two earlier investigations.

He said: "It is not an attractive form of behaviour an aggravating feature in this case particularly because you picked on vulnerable boys in boarding school.

"You also abused a position of trust."

One victim, in a statement read to the court, told how he had turned to drink and even attempted suicide while trying to come to terms with his ordeal.

Others told police how the attacks had stopped them having normal relationships and how their experiences would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Hamilton-Leggett was sentenced to eight years on each of seven counts of buggery and attempted buggery or assault and gross indecency.

All the sentences will run concurrently and he will be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.