PETER HOODLESS SHOCKS HESSLE AND HULL WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION

In August 2013, a disturbing case emerged involving Peter Hoodless, a former IT technician at Hessle High School, who was found guilty of possessing an alarming number of indecent images of children. The conviction followed an extensive investigation that uncovered thousands of illicit photographs, some depicting young girls in school uniforms, raising serious concerns about the safety and security of the local community in Hessle and Hull.

Hoodless, aged 33 at the time, was convicted by a jury at Hull Crown Court after a detailed examination of his digital devices revealed a staggering 7,136 indecent images accumulated over a period of seven years. Among these, nearly 100 images were classified in the two most severe categories of abuse, indicating the gravity of the material he possessed. Despite his claims that his computer had been hacked by a paedophile, the court was convinced of his guilt based on the evidence presented.

Recorder Tahir Khan QC sentenced Hoodless to 18 months in prison, emphasizing the seriousness of his offending. In his remarks, the judge stated, "It is clear that you were engaged in this sort of offending for at least some of the time you were working as an IT technician at a high school, although you did not seek that employment to satisfy your sexual interest in young children. You were offending in this way for a substantial number of years. This is serious offending. The public are concerned over this type of offending and the sentence must reflect the public disquiet and discourage others. That can only be achieved by imposing substantial sentences of custody."

Hoodless, who was employed at Hessle High School since June 2011 after studying computer game design at the University of Lincoln’s Hull campus, was suspended immediately following his arrest and was subsequently dismissed from his position. The police investigation was part of an international effort led by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), which traced the source of the illicit images to Hoodless’s home in Thanet Road, east Hull.

During the police raid, officers also discovered 99 indecent movies of children stored on his computer. Hoodless later claimed that he had met a man named Mike on an online chatroom dedicated to computer experts, who supposedly hacked into his machine and planted the images. However, he maintained his innocence regarding downloading the images himself, denying any direct involvement.

His legal representative, David Gordon, highlighted Hoodless’s lack of prior convictions and argued that he had no history of attempting to contact children or creating such images himself. Gordon stated, “This kind of offence is attached to a great deal of shame and it isn’t easy for people to immediately come to terms with their culpability and condition. He is in a stable relationship, and his partner has, and is, standing by him. There must be something positive in his personality and character that for her to do that. All of this has been a terrible embarrassment to her.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Hoodless was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely and was placed under a sexual offences prevention order, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities.

Hessle High School’s executive headteacher, Sarah Young, issued a statement reassuring the community. She said, “I would like to reassure parents and the local community that at no point has there been any evidence that any members of the school community have been at risk. On the day of the arrest, the police notified us of their concerns, and the trustees immediately took the decision to terminate his employment, assisted by the East Riding Safeguarding Children’s Board throughout the process. Mr. Hoodless has not returned to the school. As a probationary member of staff, with a very short employment time, there was limited lone-working for this support staff member. At all times, the safety of the learners within our school has been and remains our highest priority.”

Earlier in July 2013, similar allegations surfaced when it was reported that Hoodless, then a school IT technician, possessed approximately 7,000 indecent images of children, including photographs of girls in school uniforms. The police investigation, which was part of the CEOP’s efforts, uncovered 7,300 depraved images of young girls as young as six, along with 7,000 images of girls in uniforms. Hoodless was arrested after investigators traced his online activity to a paedophile website, where he was searching for images of young girls.

Following his arrest, he was suspended from Hessle High School and faced the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence. Recorder Tahir Khan QC warned him that he was likely to serve a significant period behind bars and ordered reports to assess his potential danger to the public. The court heard that Hoodless had been searching and downloading these disturbing images over a span of seven years, despite having no prior criminal record. His claims of being hacked by a man named Mike, who supposedly sent him software to fix his computer before hacking it himself, were dismissed by the jury, which took only minutes to convict him on 12 counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Hessle High School’s headteacher reiterated that Hoodless was dismissed immediately after police notified the school and that no pupils or staff were at risk. She emphasized that all safeguarding procedures had been followed and that Hoodless had passed all background checks before employment. The school remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its students, and Hoodless is scheduled for sentencing next month, with the community awaiting further legal developments.