August 2010 Suspended sentence for caretaker A SCHOOL caretaker who had hundreds of images of child pornography stored on his computer has walked free from court. Peter Taylor, 68, had pictures and movies which was judge branded ‘heart rending and really disgusting’ when police searched two machines at his home. But Taylor was told that the 617 images he had were a small number and put on a suspended sentence. Judge Douglas Field, sitting at Swindon Crown Court, said that meant he would be able to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offender Programme to reduce his risk of reoffending. Claire Marlow, prosecuting, said Taylor was arrested in February last year and two computers were seized. He was questioned before they could be examined and he told officers he had been on adult sites which meant there would pornography, but not of children. After the computers had been searched he was spoken to again and he admitted what he had done saying he had deleted the pictures, not knowing they could still be found. He said he had been sent most of them by other men he had corresponded with on a website. Taylor, of May Close, Gorse Hill, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of making and one of possessing indecent images of children Rob Ross, defending, said more than 500 of the pictures and movies were at level one, the lowest of the five levels of seriousness. “He is someone who is accepting he has a problem and in my submission would benefit in involvement in the accredited programme,” he said. He said he was aware of the shame he had brought on himself, his wife and his family and deeply regrets what he did. Passing sentence the judge said “The most serious aspect of this case are the images that are at level four and five, some of which are absolutely heart rending and really disgusting, and this case clearly passed the custody threshold. “In the scheme of things it is depressing for me to say 617 images is a small number and the level four and five images are relatively small. “The sentencing guidelines start at a sentence of six months but reduce it to four months, as you must for a plea of guilty. That means you will be released after two months and in my judgement if I pass a suspended sentence and put you under supervision for two years and order you to complete the Thames Valley Sex Offender Programme it will be far more onerous to you and far more beneficial to the public at large.” He imposed a four-month jail term which was suspended for two years, banned him from working with children and told him to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Taylor was site manager of Liden Primary School from November 2001 and became security manager at the Chalet School 10 months later. Parents of children at the schools in Liden Drive were sent a letter last month informing them Taylor had resigned after being suspended from work in February. In the letter Paul Kohn, the headteacher of Liden Primary School, said the allegations were not linked to children at either school. Swindon Council said he had been employed in good faith and passed a Criminal Records Bureau check.