Teacher 'tried to cover up' principal's child porn case

Published on Tuesday 13 January 2009 16:01

A TEACHER tried to cover up her primary school principal's arrest on child pornography charges by asking a janitor to buy all copies of a local newspaper, it was revealed today.

The teacher at Whitecraig School in Musselburgh made the request after the news broke about principal Andrew Melville, East Lothian Council stated.

Melville, 48, from Gullane, Haddingtonshire, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, where he was ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service and placed on probation for three years.

He had earlier admitted possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children between 2004 and 2005.

An East Lothian Council spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that a teacher at Whitecraig Primary, acting upon her own initiative and without consulting East Lothian Council, asked the school's janitor to buy up all copies of the East Lothian Courier from shops in Whitecraig when the news about Mr Melville broke in March 2008.

"East Lothian Council does not condone this action and views it as extremely regrettable."

The authority did not confirm if the teacher involved had been disciplined.

Melville, who has been placed on the sex offenders' register, was suspended last April when the council was made aware of the allegations against him.

He was sacked in July 2008 after a disciplinary hearing, the findings of which he has not appealed against.

The council said Melville had undergone "all statutory disclosure procedures" before his appointment at Whitecraig in 2007.

"The police confirmed that no images of East Lothian children were involved," the spokeswoman added.