Teacher jailed over 1970s child abuse images

A man has been jailed for possession of child abuse images that he created in the 1970s while teaching at a boarding school.

Alexander Johnston, 78, from Saltash in Cornwall, was employed at fee-paying Bishop's Stortford College, Hertfordshire between 1976 and 1979.

Johnston, of Longmeadow Road, changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this month and was jailed for 51 weeks.

Det Con Jess Berg, from the Non-Recent Child Abuse Investigation Team at Hertfordshire Police, said he was "a dangerous sexual predator... who took advantage of a position of power for his own sexual gratification".

The court heard Johnston often plied his victim with alcohol and had created indecent images of them.

Due to the legislation at the time of the offences he could not be charged with creating the images, which is now a separate offence.

However, Johnston kept the images for more than 50 years and police officers were able to recover and use these as evidence, Hertfordshire Police said.

The court has also been placed him on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Berg commended the victim "for their incredible bravery in coming forward" and hoped the sentence paved the way for some closure.

"It does not matter how much time has passed; we were able to get this dangerous predator sent to prison for crimes he committed 50 years ago," she said.

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