06/06/2013

RE Teacher Fired Over Child Abuse Images Ruled Fit To Teach Again

A professional conduct panel has ruled a teacher sacked for possession of child pornography should be allowed to return to work.

36-year-old Geoffrey Bettley, who taught religious education at St Mary's Catholic School in Menston, West Yorkshire, was suspended in 2010 when almost 200 child abuse images were found on his computer.

Bettley was cautioned by police and put on the sex offenders register for two years, he was also dismissed by the school.

A ruling by the National College of Teaching and Leadership has said that Mr Bettley does not, "represent a risk to children or young people", adding that he did not show a "deep-seated attitude which leads to harmful behaviour".

The panel said that the images found by police were "not at the most serious end" of the Copine scale – a one to ten scale used to grade the severity of child abuse images.

(MH/CD)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

05 November 2014
Retired Police Chaplain Charged Over Child Abuse Images
A former police chaplain is due to appear before Cambridge Magistrates' Court charged with making and possessing indecent images of children. 62-year-old Stephen Talbot, of Main Street, Little Downham, was arrested on the day he retired from his chaplaincy at Cambridgeshire police headquarters, in October.
17 October 2014
UK Police Establish Child Abuse Images Database
A national database of child sexual abuse images is being created in an effort to help UK police better co-ordinate their investigations. The Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) will store material seized by police during investigations on paedophiles and websites that they use for trading content.
16 October 2015
Kent Police Investigative 'Tool' Rolled Out Across EU
A "tool" developed by Kent Police and the University of Liverpool, which assesses the level of risk posed by a suspected paedophile and the likelihood of that person becoming a contact offender, is to be developed for use across Europe.
28 January 2009
Consultation To End Child Poverty, Launched
The Government has today set out plans to make sure every child gets the best start in life by tackling child poverty, which can unfairly hold children back and prevent them reaching their full potential.
24 April 2015
Lecturer And Student Guilty Of Child Abuse Images
A Coventry University lecturer and former student have been jailed for making and distributing images of child abuse. Martyn Lee, 53, of Eaves Green Lane, Meriden, admitted making and distributing indecent images of children.