Ex-teacher jailed over child porn

Simon McElwain said he had found the images in a garage

A former teacher who admitted having thousands of child pornography images has been jailed for two years.

Simon McElwain, 49, formerly of Swineshead, Lincolnshire, now of Horsell Moor, Woking, Surrey, also admitted storing images on CD-ROMS.

He was traced via credit cards used on a US website but insisted the pictures were downloaded by his late brother.

At Lincoln Crown Court Judge John Milmo QC also banned McElwain from working with children for the rest of his life.

Download denial

McElwain was forced to step down as owner and head of the privately-run Conway School in Boston following his arrest in 2004. The school has since changed its name.

Most of the 103,450 images discovered were categorised as Level One - the least serious - but 500 were classed as either Level Four or Level Five.

The court heard that when interviewed he claimed he found the discs while clearing out the garage of his brother, who died in August 2003.

He said he took them home, viewed them and found they contained indecent images. He denied using his credit card to access any child pornography websites.

Tony Abell, defending, said it was important to note that McElwain had never been charged with downloading or distributing the images.