KENNETH DUNN, RETIRED HAMPSHIRE TEACHER, SPARED IMMEDIATE PRISON SENTENCE IN SOUTHAMPTON
A retired teacher from Hampshire, Kenneth Dunn, aged 58, who downloaded hundreds of disturbing images of young girls, has avoided an immediate jail sentence.Dunn claimed he was driven by an obsession rooted in a desperate attempt to locate indecent photographs of himself taken over 50 years ago at his boarding school, fearing they might have been uploaded online.
He stated he wanted the images to confront his abuser.
However, Judge Derwin Hope dismissed his explanation, describing it as 'beyond belief.' Dunn, of Bassett Wood Drive in Bassett, Southampton, pleaded guilty to 21 sample charges of possessing indecent images.
The police arrested him following a raid on his home with a search warrant, and during questioning, he turned visibly pale, with officers fearing he might faint upon being informed of their suspicions that he had been downloading such material.
Prosecutor Roderick Blain explained to Southampton Crown Court that analysis of two computers revealed more than 1,400 images depicting girls ranging from 12 years old down to infants.
Dunn, who was a father of three and previously taught electronics and physics at Taunton's College in Southampton before retiring this year, had accessed the content through notorious hardcore websites.
Judge Hope, after reviewing two psychiatric reports, accepted that Dunn was suffering from a depressive illness that had influenced his behavior.
As a result, he sentenced Dunn to a 12-month suspended jail term and ordered him to participate in an internet sex offender program.
Additionally, he was barred from living in a household with any children, working with minors, or using a computer or online message boards without prior approval from a supervising officer.
Dunn is also required to register as a sex offender for the next ten years.
In mitigation, James Leonard remarked that the case had devastated Dunn’s character and brought him severe public humiliation.
He explained, 'The effect on him and his devoted wife has been catastrophic.
He had been held in such high esteem and the impact has been as bad as it could conceivably have got.' Leonard added that, at the time of the offenses, Dunn was suffering from a major depressive illness and was 'simply not himself.'
