CHRISTOPHER BENCH SHOCKS AYLESBURY AND WINDERMERE WITH CHILD PORN DOWNLOADS
| Red Rose Database
Aylesbury Windermere Child Sexual Abuser
In December 2002, a disturbing case emerged involving Christopher Bench, a former teacher from The Lakes School in Troutbeck Bridge, who was found to have downloaded indecent images of children from the internet. The investigation revealed that Bench, now residing in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was ordered by magistrates in Kendal to register as a sex offender for the next five years and to complete a three-year community rehabilitation order.
Bench, aged 44 at the time, appeared before South Lakeland Magistrates Court on a Tuesday to face sentencing after pleading guilty to six charges of making indecent photographs of children. Additionally, he requested that 36 similar offences be taken into account during sentencing, indicating a recognition of multiple prior offenses.
Prosecutor Victoria Rose detailed the police operation that led to Bench’s arrest. Authorities executed a search warrant at his residence located at Belle Isle View in Windermere. During the search, police discovered a collection of photographs on the hard drive of his home computer, which Bench admitted had been downloaded from the internet. Mrs. Rose described the images as depicting children, many as young as four or five years old, being subjected to severe sexual abuse by adult males. The images included both male and female children, with some photographs showing a girl who, in Mrs. Rose’s opinion, could have been as young as three years old.
The arrest was part of Operation Alarm, a nationwide police initiative targeting online child exploitation. This operation was initiated following intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, which shared information with Cumbria Police, leading to multiple arrests across the country.
Throughout the court proceedings, Bench maintained a composed demeanor, dressed smartly and supported by several supporters. His solicitor, Justine Foden, explained that her client had accessed the images in early 2001. She emphasized that Bench did not create or take the photographs but had merely retrieved them from the internet, specifically from the automatic save function of his hard drive. Foden stated that Bench recognized the disturbing nature of the images and acknowledged that he might have encountered such material when visiting certain websites, but he found the worst images extremely distasteful.
Foden urged the magistrates to consider a non-custodial sentence, highlighting Bench’s previous good character and his role as a dedicated teacher, which she argued would be a significant loss to the community. She also noted that Bench would regret his actions for the rest of his life and that he would be unable to continue his teaching career.
Before the magistrates retired to deliberate, court clerk Gerald Reece provided guidance based on previous case law and warned of the overcrowding in prisons, as emphasized by Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice.
In delivering the sentence, magistrate John Chew expressed his disgust at the images, stating, “We have seen the images concerned and we are sure any right-thinking member of the public would be appalled at what they portray.” However, he clarified that the magistrates believed Bench had downloaded the images solely for personal use and had no intention of distributing them. As part of his punishment, Bench was ordered to participate in a sex offenders’ program, with the maximum period allowed under magistrate jurisdiction, reflecting the seriousness of the offense.
Bench, aged 44 at the time, appeared before South Lakeland Magistrates Court on a Tuesday to face sentencing after pleading guilty to six charges of making indecent photographs of children. Additionally, he requested that 36 similar offences be taken into account during sentencing, indicating a recognition of multiple prior offenses.
Prosecutor Victoria Rose detailed the police operation that led to Bench’s arrest. Authorities executed a search warrant at his residence located at Belle Isle View in Windermere. During the search, police discovered a collection of photographs on the hard drive of his home computer, which Bench admitted had been downloaded from the internet. Mrs. Rose described the images as depicting children, many as young as four or five years old, being subjected to severe sexual abuse by adult males. The images included both male and female children, with some photographs showing a girl who, in Mrs. Rose’s opinion, could have been as young as three years old.
The arrest was part of Operation Alarm, a nationwide police initiative targeting online child exploitation. This operation was initiated following intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, which shared information with Cumbria Police, leading to multiple arrests across the country.
Throughout the court proceedings, Bench maintained a composed demeanor, dressed smartly and supported by several supporters. His solicitor, Justine Foden, explained that her client had accessed the images in early 2001. She emphasized that Bench did not create or take the photographs but had merely retrieved them from the internet, specifically from the automatic save function of his hard drive. Foden stated that Bench recognized the disturbing nature of the images and acknowledged that he might have encountered such material when visiting certain websites, but he found the worst images extremely distasteful.
Foden urged the magistrates to consider a non-custodial sentence, highlighting Bench’s previous good character and his role as a dedicated teacher, which she argued would be a significant loss to the community. She also noted that Bench would regret his actions for the rest of his life and that he would be unable to continue his teaching career.
Before the magistrates retired to deliberate, court clerk Gerald Reece provided guidance based on previous case law and warned of the overcrowding in prisons, as emphasized by Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice.
In delivering the sentence, magistrate John Chew expressed his disgust at the images, stating, “We have seen the images concerned and we are sure any right-thinking member of the public would be appalled at what they portray.” However, he clarified that the magistrates believed Bench had downloaded the images solely for personal use and had no intention of distributing them. As part of his punishment, Bench was ordered to participate in a sex offenders’ program, with the maximum period allowed under magistrate jurisdiction, reflecting the seriousness of the offense.