A former headmaster found to have extreme images of women and animals having sex has been jailed for nine months.
Roger Griffiths, who was headmaster of Gatewen Hall, a school at the Bryn Alyn community in Wrexham, admitted possessing 51 extreme pornographic images following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
Prosecutor Catherine Donnelly told Caernarfon Crown Court the 77-year-old had pleaded guilty to a number of charges after a search at his home in Brynteg near New Broughton in Wrexham on June 17, 2014.
Police examined his computer and found that, on April 26, he’d accessed a number of “extreme pornography” and “animal porn” sites featuring animals and humans having sex.
He told police he had been “trying to find images” and had clicked on the sites “by accident”.
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Ms Donnelly said Griffiths had previous convictions from 1999, when he had been jailed for eight years for a serious sexual offence against a boy, another indecent assault on another boy and a number of child cruelty offences.
Mark Barlow, defending, said the pictures were all still images which hadn’t been filed or shared.
He said Griffiths’ explanation was “foolish” and “beggared belief”.
Asking for any sentence to be suspended, Mr Barlow admitted that Griffiths could come across as “extremely arrogant”.
Sentencing Griffiths, Judge Geraint Walters said his 1999 conviction was “relevant” to his sentencing today.
He said the women in the images were real people, and would not have been inolved without being persuaded to.
Judge Walters said: “They are, therefore, real victims. Those who are tempted with watching material of this sort need to be deterred from doing so.
“You have demonstrated that, for a substantial part of your life, you have shown an addiction to sexually exploiting the vulnerable, whether they might be children or women persuaded to take part in that kind of activity with animals.
“You need to stop lying to yourself and accept that which you are.”
The Judge also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the computer.
Griffiths had been arrested by officers from Operation Pallial, an independent NCA investigation into recent allegations of past abuse in the care system in North Wales.
In June, he was cleared of two charges of indecent assault as part of a historic child sex abuse trial at Mold Crown Court.
Ian Mulcahey, Operation Pallial senior investigating officer, said: “I am delighted that Roger Griffiths has been brought to justice.
“We will do all we can to identify and bring to justice all those who think they can operate below the law enforcement radar and possess or supply extreme pornographic material.
“Operation Pallial is ongoing. A total of eight people have so far been brought to justice by the investigation, including former North Wales care home owner John Allen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014, and five men who were sentenced to a total of 43 years in prison in September last year, after being found guilty of 34 offences.
“A further trial is due to begin in September this year and we await charging decisions from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to 26 further suspects.”
Ed Beltrami, Crown Prosecution Service Wales chief prosecutor, said: “Roger Griffiths is guilty of possessing criminally indecent, extreme pornographic images.
“Operation Pallial has successfully prosecuted a number of individuals for a range of criminal offences.
“The team remains committed to bringing offenders like Griffiths to justice.”
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-ex-headmaster-roger-griffiths-11208546
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