PAUL COLLINS FROM WATFORD AVOIDS JAIL AFTER DISCOVERY OF CHILD ABUSE IMAGES

In July 2014, Paul Collins, a former school bursar from Watford, was spared imprisonment after being found in possession of 209 indecent images of children on his laptop. Collins, who previously served as the bursar at the Haberdasher’s School in Elstree, admitted his guilt when police arrived at his residence on The Ridgeway at around 7 a.m.

Prosecutor David Chrimes told St Albans Crown Court that officers asked Collins if he had been viewing inappropriate material. Collins responded, “The defendant accepted he had,” and his laptop was subsequently seized. He was arrested, interviewed, and made full admissions, stating, “following the death of his mother some years earlier, he had viewed adult pornography and came across images of young children. He accepted he started viewing it.”

The 66-year-old disclosed that he had viewed images of girls aged 12 to 13, as well as some aged 10 to 12, and revealed that one image involved a baby.

A forensic analysis of his laptop revealed it contained 209 images. Collins pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children.

During his defense, Richard Storey mentioned that Collins had initially sought help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and had paid £800 to attend a course. He highlighted that Collins was of previous good character and had entered an early guilty plea.

It was also noted that after the death of his mother in 2004, Collins experienced depression, which was worsened when his partner was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Judge Marie Catterson sentenced Collins to a 12-month community order with 12 months of supervision. She emphasized the inappropriate nature of his actions, stating, “Not for the first time the court has heard that the viewing of adult pornography had led to the viewing of pornography of another kind. You should not have viewed images of this kind.” Additionally, Collins was ordered to pay £500 in prosecution costs. His laptop was to be forfeited and destroyed.

Further requirements included Collins registering as a sex offender for a period of seven years and complying with a seven-year sexual prevention order. This order mandates that his internet browsing history be recorded and not deleted.