Please see the editorial at the bottom

Headteacher's child porn shame

By Zara Bishop For IC South London


SHOCKED parents were sickened to discover that a former headteacher, given a computer as a leaving gift, has admitted downloading child porn.

Timothy Callaway, who taught at St Leonard's CofE Primary School in Streatham for eight years, used the filthy websites as "escapism".

Parents were told of his court case in a letter from Lambeth council on Friday.

Callaway, 43, who left the Mitcham Lane primary last year, admitted 20 charges of taking, making and permitting indecent photographs of a child prior to April 30 this year.

He asked for four other similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Susannah Bramley, prosecuting at Guildford Magistrates' Court on June 16, said a US investigation into child abuse on the internet had revealed his name.

Cops went to his home in Brooklands Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey, on April 30 and seized three computers and a number of discs.

Annabel Privett, defending, said: "He is a man who came to realise that he was a homosexual but who went through considerable difficulty in coming to terms with that.

"The turmoil of his feelings trying to be someone he wasn't and trying to be the macho headmaster - all of these things really took their toll on him.

"He does accept that he went into these sites. In a way it was escapism."

Callaway was bailed to return to the court to be sentenced on July 7.

Michelle Jerrom, 44, of Streatham, whose 10-year-old daughter attends the school said: "We trusted him with our children. I thought he was decent."

A dad whose child attends the school said: "We all clubbed together and bought him a laptop computer as a leaving present."

A Lambeth council spokesman said: "At present there is no evidence of any wrong-doing in relation to any child in the school and we are doing everything possible to assist the authorities in their investigation."

A confidential telephone number has been set up on 020 7926 9658.

Editorial Comment: Anyone who has attended a child protection conference will know exactly what I am going to say next....

This man however confused actively took pictures of little children amongst his crimes, note the response from the council, non-committal yet obviously supporting the professional yet does Lambeth apply the same rules to members of the public, its wagepayers if there is "no evidence that anything has gone on".

This man may have participated in Child Protection Conferences, he may have assisted social services place children on the register, he would be a member of the core group for the registration process, in short this is a disaster for children and parents in the LB Lambeth.

Will Lambeth review any participation into child protection issues that he has helped on?

What do you think

RPSSUK