Leeds music teacher handed suspended sentence for child abuse images

A music teacher named Donal Donnelly, aged 58, who was working as a freelance music instructor at a school in Leeds, has been found guilty of possessing more than 2,000 indecent images of children as young as six. The images, which were discovered on devices belonging to him, were classified into categories A, B, and C, with several rated as category A and B, indicating particularly disturbing content. Donnelly was under investigation for a separate offence when these images were uncovered. He admitted to three charges of downloading indecent images and was sentenced at York Crown Court to an eight-month jail term, which was suspended for 12 months. Additionally, he was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, placed under a five-year sexual harm prevention order, and required to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. He was also instructed to participate in a rehabilitation program and to pay costs of £425. North Yorkshire Police confirmed that the children in the images were "primary school-aged" and clarified there was no evidence linking the images to children taught by Donnelly.