Ex-school head jailed for four years over 3,000 child porn images

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 21:39

A FORMER headmaster who had nearly 3,000 child porn images has been jailed for two years.

David Wilson, 48, from Paisley was arrested after a high- profile crackdown on internet paedophiles

Wilson downloaded pictures and video clips of children being sexually abused, including more than 1,000 at the two most severe levels of classification.

Wilson – who at the time was head of Auchmuty High School in Glenrothes, Fife – was snared as part of Operation Algebra, one of the largest investigations ever carried out by Lothian and Borders Police.

The inquiry broke Scotland's largest known paedophile ring and identified 200 suspected child sex offenders across the globe.

Wilson was given a four-year extended sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, with the jail term set at two years. He will remain on licence for two years after he is freed .

Lord Kinclaven said people who view such images "contribute to the trade in child pornography".

He said: "The court requires to mark the seriousness of that offending and to protect the public. The public includes children."

He went on: "In my view, there is no alternative to a custodial sentence. No other method of dealing with you is appropriate."

Last month, Wilson admitted charges of possessing and downloading indecent images of children between 16 May, 2004 and 19 December last year.

He came to police attention when they searched the home of one of the worst members of the paedophile gang, former civil servant John Milligan. They found that the two had exchanged e-mails.

Described by prosecutors as a "prolific distributor" of indecent images of youngsters, Milligan was sentenced to 17 years behind bars for a string of porn charges and his part in a conspiracy to abuse children.

An investigation of Milligan's computer equipment found he had contacted someone using the name "Dwilpower1" by e-mail. Wilson was identified as the owner of that e-mail address.

Police then carried out a systematic search of the headmaster's home last December and his computer equipment was seized.

A total of 2,969 separate images were found, predominantly of western male children. The court heard that more than 1,000 images were at the worst end of the Copine classification scale – 922 at level four and 113 at level five.

Lord Kinclaven was told that some of the moving images showed "clear expressions of pain and distress" on the faces of the children being abused.

When police questioned Wilson about the files on his computer, he told them: "Well, if they're on my computer, yeah, they're obviously on my computer."

Lord Kinclaven told him yesterday that he acknowledged his offending was of a "non- contact" nature and that there was no suggestion he had taken the photographs or shared them with anyone else.

But he told him: "You have accepted responsibility for two serious offences."

The judge imposed an extended sentence in light of the gravity of the offending and to provide a measure of protection for the public.

Defence advocate Joe Barr said Wilson had "pressed the self- destruct button" when he began to use his computer equipment to search for porn – and ended an "illustrious" career.

Wilson became a teacher in the early 1980s and obtained a number of posts and promotions in the years which followed, becoming a deputy head in 1993 and being appointed head of Auchmuty High School in Glenrothes in 2006.

Two glowing reports from school inspectors praised the work he was doing, tackling the problems at Auchmuty

The court heard that Wilson was suspended from his post after his initial court appearance and he resigned in February this year.

Mr Barr added that his client had had an "illustrious career", loved his job and had enjoyed considerable success during his time as head teacher at Auchmuty High School.

He has since faced public vilification and had made two suicide attempts, the lawyer said.

"This is a man who has suffered greatly," he told the court.

Mr Barr said Wilson was appalled by his behaviour and acknowledged it was "completely unacceptable".

Wilson has been placed on the sex offenders' register and will be referred to Scottish ministers as a person unsuitable to work with children.