Primary School Teacher escapes jail sentence
Jonathan Bennett, a primary school teacher from Beccles in Suffolk was picked up as part of the US-led porn site crackdown Operation Ore. Police seized computers from his home and the Albert Pye Primary School in Beccles after getting his name from a list of credit card subscribers.
They found 231 child porn images on two school computers, six saved to a disc and another 61 in internet files at his home.
Magistrates in Ipswich were told that the internet pictures showed children in poses but not taking part in sexual activities. They were graded as "level one" the lowest on the scale of seriousness. There had been no danger of pupils accessing the images because of supervision.
Bennett, was let off with a community rehabilitation order after his solicitor pleaded for him to be spared jail saying that his life was already in ruins.
Bennett was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years and ordered to attend a sex offenders' prgramme.
Children's charities were unhappy at the decision not to put the married 31 year old behind bars and John Carr, Internet Safety Advisor for the National Children's Homes was quoted as saying " I am surprised he got such a lenient sentence in these circumstances".
Created: Wed, June 4th, 2003 | Last Modified: Sat, October 9th, 2004
