LEIGH FERREDAY FROM PETERBOROUGH ESCAPES JAIL DESPITE CHILD ABUSE IMAGE SCANDAL
In a case that has shocked the community of Peterborough, Leigh Ferreday, a 21-year-old former teaching assistant from Gordon Avenue, Woodston, narrowly avoided imprisonment after being found in possession of a vast collection of indecent images depicting young boys.The incident, which came to light in March 2011, involved the discovery of thousands of illicit photographs and videos stored on his personal computers and hard drives.
Ferreday, who was employed at Ormiston Bushfield Academy as a teaching assistant and also worked sporadically as a football coach for Powerleague in Stanground, faced serious criminal charges related to the possession and creation of child abuse images.
During a court hearing at Peterborough Crown Court on the 2nd of March, he pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children and three counts of possession of such images.
According to court reports, police executed a search warrant at Ferreday’s residence, uncovering a disturbing collection of material totaling 6,748 photographs and videos.
Among these, more than 240 images were classified at levels four and five on the Copine Scale, indicating the most severe and explicit content involving young boys as young as two years old.
Judge Nic Madge, presiding over the case, expressed his view that Ferreday’s actions warranted a custodial sentence.
However, he ultimately decided to impose a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, citing the importance of supervision and rehabilitation programs in preventing future offenses.
The judge emphasized the gravity of the crime, stating, “Making or possessing indecent images is a serious offence which involves the corruption, degradation and infliction of pain on real children.
Lives are wrecked as a result.” Judge Madge further remarked that the sexual abuse of the children depicted in the images would not have occurred if not for individuals like Ferreday, who viewed such material.
He added, “It is not putting it too high to say you are indirectly responsible for their sexual abuse.” In addition to the suspended sentence, Ferreday was ordered to register as a sex offender, was banned from working with children, and was required to pay costs amounting to £650.
The court’s decision was based on the belief that supervised programs and long-term monitoring would be more effective in preventing further offenses than immediate imprisonment.
The judge clarified that had Ferreday been sentenced to immediate custody, he would likely have been released after a few months with limited supervision, which could have increased the risk of reoffending.
