School caretaker found with thousands of indecent images of children gets community order and sex register

SCHOOL CARETAKER FOUND WITH THOUSANDS OF INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN GETS COMMUNITY ORDER AND SEX REGISTER

A primary school caretaker was found in possession of more than 2,000 indecent images of children on devices seized during a police investigation.

Kevin Brandwood pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child and a further count of possessing prohibited images of a child.

Detectives from Nottinghamshire Police acted on and developed intelligence initially provided by the National Crime Agency relating to Brandwood accessing indecent images via a social media platform.

Detailed enquiries revealed that the customer account used to access the images was allocated to Brandwood who was arrested in November 2019.

The 65-year-old, who lives off Sneinton Road, Sneinton, was immediately suspended by bosses at Cantrell Primary School in Bulwell.

Examinations of devices seized from Brandwood showed that, between June 17 2017 and November 21 2019, they contained a total of 2,027 indecent images of children.

Of those images, 274 were category A, the most serious, with 363 category B and 1,390 category C images also found.

None of the images found on his devices related to any pupils at the school, police said.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, February 4, Brandwood was given an 18-month community order.

He was also made subject of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), must complete 30 rehabilitation requirement days and sign the Sex Offenders' Register for five years.

The school's headteacher, Mrs Deborah Weaver, said: "These offences did not relate to anything in school but in his private life." "Once these matters came to light, appropriate action was taken and he was suspended from his duties." Detective Constable Andrew Taylor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "As our work in this case demonstrates, the safeguarding of children and young people is a priority for Nottinghamshire Police and we will be relentless in our pursuit of those individuals who pose a threat." "The five-year sexual harm prevention order applied to Brandwood includes strict prohibitions and restrictions on his activities in order to protect the public." "These orders do have teeth and, if Brandwood was to breach the terms of the order, it would be a criminal offence for which he could potentially face a prison sentence of up to five years." "Behind every indecent image of a child is a vulnerable victim and these crimes are among the most appalling that we investigate." "Using the internet to target children and view indecent images will not be tolerated and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep our communities safe and bring offenders to justice."