Former teacher at fee-paying school on Northamptonshire border pleads guilty to child sex offences

Former Kimbolton School teacher Scott Whitlock, 45, of no fixed address, was arrested on June 12 last year after police received an anonymous letter stating he was in possession of ‘disturbing images of children’.

After receiving this information in May 2015, a police investigation started and searches were made at premises within Kimbolton School and at Whitlock’s then home address in Bedford.

A number of electronic devices were seized which uncovered a large amount of indecent images of children, along with chat logs in Whitlock’s name detailing obscene material and explicit sexual fantasies involving children.

He was arrested at the school on June 12 and immediately suspended from teaching, before having his employment terminated on November 17.

On March 1 this year he was charged with two counts of making indecent images of a child, one count of possessing indecent images of a child, one count of distributing an indecent image of a child and one count of publishing an obscene article.

When making the charging decisions, Senior Crown Prosecutor Samantha Woolley said the chat logs were of a “horrific nature”.

She said: “The written content of the messages is of an obscene and distressing nature based on the sexual abuse of children and young children.

“Whitlock has a clear entrenched sexual interest in children which is evidenced in his own words in the chat logs which he stated in interview are his.”

He appeared at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday (Monday) and pleaded guilty to all charges apart from one count of making indecent images of children, which was accepted by the prosecution.

The possession of indecent images of children relates to 112 images consisting of 90 category C images, six category B images and 16 category A images of children.

The making of indecent images of children charge relates to 505 images consisting of 345 category C images, 53 category B images and 107 category A images of children.

The distributing of indecent images of children relates to one image.

The charge of publishing an obscene article relates to the exchanging of chat messages online, detailing explicit conversations concerning fantasies involving young children.

DC Matt Roe, from the Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), said: “While none of the images in Whitlock’s possession contained any of Kimbolton School’s past or present students, there were some extremely disturbing images of children which he clearly had an interest in.

“This investigation was complex and involved the expertise of officers from across several investigative departments, resulting in Scott Whitlock’s conviction.

“It is reassuring to know he will never teach again.”

Sentencing has been scheduled for the end of May at Cambridge Crown Court, with an exact date yet to be confirmed.