ALUN BRIGGS SENTENCED IN ST ALBANS OVER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

In January 2000, police discovered approximately 1,400 images of child pornography during a raid on a private nursery and infant school. The images were linked to Alun Briggs, whose parents operated the Radlett Nursery Infant School in Radlett.

St Albans Crown Court was informed on Monday that Briggs resided in a self-contained flat within the school premises, where he also taught calligraphy to children for an hour each week.

Prosecutor Samantha Cohen stated that Briggs, 35, had downloaded images depicting children in various states, ranging from nude and erotic poses to explicit sexual acts. Briggs was arrested in October of the previous year after the FBI in the United States supplied British authorities with information about individuals who had used their credit cards to access Landslide Productions, a site linked to child pornography.

Judge Findlay Baker QC imposed a three-year Community Rehabilitation Order on Briggs and mandated that he register as a sex offender for five years. The judge also ordered Briggs to pay £750 in prosecution costs and directed that the computers seized during the raid be confiscated and that the child pornography images be destroyed.