HATFIELD UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE LECTURER JOHN PROBERT SENTENCED FOR PAEDOPHILIA OFFENCES

In February 2019, John Probert, a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for multiple offences including paedophilia, fraud, possession of indecent images of children, and breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). Probert, who has no fixed address, was convicted at St Albans Crown Court on Friday.

Probert, aged 50, had previously been cautioned in 2012 after authorities found 79 indecent images of children. In 2016, he received a community order for possessing images classified as category B and C, which were deemed paedophilic in nature.

He had been employed as a tax lecturer at the university since 2014. However, after 2016, he committed fraud by concealing his previous convictions, obtaining a total of £8,730.99 through fraudulent paychecks. Additionally, Probert failed to disclose significant actions to the police, such as deleting his internet history and obtaining new bank cards.

During a police search of Probert’s home in 2018, officials discovered a mobile phone hidden in his back garden, wrapped in a freezer bag and buried just inches beneath gravel. The device contained nearly 800 items of paedophilic material dating from June 2017 to September 2018, including 42 category A, 55 category B, and 701 category C images, as well as category A videos. Authorities also found 127 prohibited images of children and 11 videos depicting extreme pornography, including acts involving live animals.

Further investigations revealed that Probert had used university computers without monitoring to search terms such as “pre-teen,” “virgin boy,” and “child model.” He also distributed a category C image via Facebook Messenger under the alias John Cainer.

Prosecutor Sarah O’Kane stated: “Clearly this is someone who has seen to conceal his activities from the authorities, which were put in place to protect the public.”

Probert admitted to 16 offences, leading to a sentence comprising multiple concurrent and consecutive terms totaling 30 months. Judge Nigel Lithman QC described the case, saying: “With this case, there is a combination of persistence in offending and blatancy in offending, in that it is well thought out — that can be seen by all through the chronology of this matter.”