Teacher groped young pupils

A primary school teacher who shot "semi-pornographic" videos of his pupils and indecently assaulted them has been jailed for three years.

Richard Boddy used a camcorder to film the children and, on one occasion, zoomed in on a 10-year-old girl's bare chest after her blouse fell open.

The 28-year-old also stole knickers, bras and swimming costumes from young girls' bags and the lost property store.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the video and underwear were found at Boddy's home in St Helens, Merseyside, during a police raid.

You insinuated yourself into teaching, I have no doubt, to gratify your sinister lust

Judge Denis Clark

Five thousand pornographic images of children were also found on his computer.

Police then interviewed children at the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons, and heard Boddy had groped a 10-year-old girl and placed a nine-year-old girl's hand on his groin.

Jailing him, Judge Denis Clark said he thought Boddy had deliberately become a primary school teacher to satisfy his desires.

He said: "You were teaching children while at the same time compiling a semi-pornographic video of a young child.

"You insinuated yourself into teaching, I have no doubt, to gratify your sinister lust."

Boddy admitted indecent assault, gross indecency, making an indecent video, and downloading child pornography from the internet in February 2002.