March 2007 Child abuse images was hidden in friend’s loft An academic and former tutor/teacher at Exmouth community college who marks children’s exam papers has been jailed for 12 months for possessing child abuse images. Anthony Berra, 53, kept two compact discs of the material in the loft at a friend’s house, Exeter Crown Court heard. His secret was uncovered when the discs were found by a loft insulation contractor who handed them to the police. Berra, of Bicton Street, Exmouth, pleaded guilty to 13 charges of possessing indecent images of children. Carla Grant, prosecuting, said there were 796 pictures on the discs which Berra had acquired from a man he met through the Internet who had similar fetishes. The court heard he had a conviction for possessing child pornography in 1991 and a caution for similar matters in 1998. The police had also been called to an incident involving Berra and a 13-year-old boy in a pub toilet in 2001, but no action had been taken. Mary McCarthy, for Berra, said the majority of the images fell into the two least serious categories and there was no evidence Berra was distributing them. After his first conviction he had set up as a painter and decorator but continued to use his academic qualifications to mark examination papers. She said he did not pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public, though there was a risk of his possessing child pornography. Judge Graham Cottle told Berra: “You kept these discs in your possession for a long time and hid them in the loft at a friend’s house, taking them home for your own sexual gratification. “This is your second conviction for similar offences and I do not disregard the incident in 2001 which has caused the writer of the pre-sentence report and a psychologist considerable concern. I am required under the Act to assume you pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public and I do not consider it remotely unreasonable to decide there is that risk. “There is an escalation in the degree of your offending and you lack plans for managing your behaviour in the future. There is a high risk of your possessing child pornography and a moderate risk of sexual assault on a child.” In addition to the prison term, Judge Cottle imposed an extended licence period of three years, which Berra must serve if he breaches his parole or commits another offence. Berra was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years and banned from working with children for life