Teacher admits possessing indecent images of children
Philip Allen, who has since been fired from his job at Shenley Brook School, is a prominent figure in religious education nationally and has written frequently for the Times Educational Supplement.
But today the 48-year-old, of Potterspury, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children and a charge of possessing prohibited images.
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Hide AdAs part of his charges, Allen admitted possessing 172 “category A” indecent images of children, the most extreme kind. He also admitted having 46 category B images and 37 of category C.
Prosecuting, Jerena Tomaszewska, said Allen’s crimes were uncovered during a police warrant on the house he shares with his wife in High Street in June this year.
She said: “Images were found on a laptop and individual images found on an external hard drive.
“The report shows that some of the images were also backed up from the defendant’s iPad.”
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Hide AdAllen had been a member of the TES teacher panel and a national TES advisor for key stage 4 religious studies.
Magistrates declined jurisdiction and committed the former teacher for sentencing a Northampton Crown Court on November 11.
He was bailed until under a condition he could not come into unsupervised contact with an under 18.
Mrs Tomaszewska said Allen could receive a custodial sentence of between 26 weeks and a year for the crimes.
Presiding magistrate Diana Whittaker told Allen: “Our powers of sentencing are insufficient for you, these charges are too serious.”