LEEDS MIDWIFE CHIEF MARTIN TOWERS SHAMES HIMSELF WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
In September 2012, Martin Towers, a 58-year-old former senior midwifery lecturer at the University of Leeds, admitted to possessing nearly 2,000 indecent images of children.The images included children as young as two years old.
Towers resigned from his position after police executed a raid on his home, where disturbing images were discovered.
Leeds Crown Court was told that both Towers and his wife served as school governors at the time of the offences, which were uncovered in January of the previous year.
They have since stepped down from their roles.
A judge addressed Towers, of Churchfield Lane, Rothwell, Leeds, stating that he had "publicly humiliated" himself and his family by downloading the vile images.
Although he narrowly avoided a jail term, Towers was sentenced to a three-year community and supervision order, which requires him to attend a sex offender programme and prohibits unsupervised contact with children.
The University of Leeds confirmed that Towers was once employed there but is no longer part of its staff.
During proceedings, it was revealed that Towers attempted to commit suicide following his arrest but was stopped when police traced him via his mobile phone.
Prosecutor Yunus Valli explained that police executed a warrant at Towers’s residence on January 15th last year after receiving information.
Computers and files were seized, and indecent images were found hidden within them.
In interview, Towers claimed he was the head of midwifery at Leeds University, although he had resigned from that position.
Towers also stated that he had suffered a minor stroke between his initial bail and the police interview.
He told officers he viewed the images as "being naughty" and intended to delete them.
He claimed to have only an interest in adult pornography and insisted he did not derive sexual gratification from the child images.
He pleaded guilty to 21 charges of making indecent images of children.
Authorities found a total of 1,986 images, with 65 classified as level four, which is the second most serious category.
Mitigating solicitor Lindsay Lobley noted that Towers had attempted to take his own life, with police tracking his mobile phone as part of that attempt.
Lobley mentioned that Towers had been introduced to a university counsellor and was now taking steps to address his offending behaviors.
She also highlighted that his health had declined since the offences became known.
His wife submitted a letter to the court describing him as a "kind, hardworking man who always puts his family first." In sentencing, Judge Guy Kearl QC remarked, "I think anybody who knows you would be astonished to see you standing in the dock." The judge further stated, "Before the discovery of these images, you held a respectable job as a lecturer at Leeds University’s School of Healthcare.
You have resigned, and rightly so.
Your wife has been publicly humiliated in her professional life.
Not surprisingly, the past 18 months have been stressful."
