Former music teacher found with more than 100 indecent images of children avoids jail
Police attended the home he shared with his partner and her son after intelligence was received
A former music teacher will never work in that profession again after police found more than 100 indecent images of children on devices at his home, a court heard this week.
Police attended the home of Wayne David Plant, 51, on August 4 last year, acting on intelligence that a device or devices at the address had been used to download images of children being abused.
Prosecutor Charlotte Morgan told Telford Magistrates Court on Wednesday (July 8): “Officers attended the home where he resided with his partner and her son.
“They seized a number of devices.
“[Plant] identified himself and a number of indecent images were located on the devices.”
She said in all there were nine images classified as being in category A, the most serious in the eyes of the law depicting the worst forms of abuse; 87 in the lesser category B and 12 in category C.
Plant was charged with making indecent photographs of a child and subsequently pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
Mitigating for Plant, Jacqui Callan told the court the former music teacher, who has no previous convictions, accepted he won’t be able to work in the field again and has “had to leave the family home” since his arrest.
She said that in accessing the illegal images he had not sought to hide his identity, using “his own email, his own Facebook, his own WhatsApp, his own Twitter”.
At the time he downloaded the images he was “suffering significantly with deteriorating mental health” and since his crimes came to light he has sought counselling and professional psychiatric help, she said.
After deliberating the magistrates handed down a community order to last two years. They ordered Plant to complete up to 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay a £100 fine, a £114 victim surcharge and £85 towards court costs.
Plant, of St Martins, must also sign onto the sex offenders register and comply with the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.