CARETAKER ROBERT FISHER OF POTTERS BAR JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY DISCOVERED IN JANUARY 2000

In January 2000, Robert Fisher, a 48-year-old caretaker from Potters Bar, was sentenced to 42 months in prison after police uncovered him possessing approximately 100,000 images of child pornography on his computer. Officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary raided Fisher’s home on Oakmere Avenue as part of a nationwide initiative called Operation Ore. The operation was conducted based on a tip-off from a large-scale anti-pornography effort led by the US Postal Inspection Service.

Fisher had claimed that his collection of images was intended for developing software aimed at blocking child pornography. Detective Chief Inspector Jerry Tattersal, who led the investigation, stated that this case involved the largest collection of child pornography ever found in Hertfordshire. He commented, “Robert Fisher used the internet in the most inappropriate and disturbing way. However, through the successful use of intelligence-led policing supported by high-level investigative and technical skills, this individual was identified and brought to justice.”

At the sentencing at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Findlay Baker also ordered Fisher to be registered as a sex offender for ten years and prohibited him from working with children. It was noted that Fisher had worked as a caretaker at various commercial properties, though there is no record of him working at an educational institution.