Porn dentist 'must be struck off'

A dentist who admitted having thousands of child pornography images must be struck off, a High Court judge ruled.

In the first case of its kind, a new health watchdog has won a ruling that an earlier 12-month suspension from the dentists' register was too lenient.

In September 2003 Alexander Fleischmann, who worked in Hayes, west London, admitted 12 charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Last June, the General Dental Council suspended him for 12 months.

Mr Justice Newman, sitting in London on Thursday, said Middlesex Crown Court's decision not to send Fleischmann to prison had little or nothing to do with the gravity of the offence and everything to do with the health of his dependents.

The age of children in these cases is a pointer to the level of depravity involved Mr Justice Newman

He said the court had taken account of the fact he was suffering from depression, the death of his father and his father-in-law, as well as considerable losses from share dealing.

Ordinarily, Fleischmann's sentences would result in a "sentence of imprisonment of between 12 months and three years", the judge said.

"The age of children in these cases is a pointer to the level of depravity involved and the extent of deviance involved in the conduct," he added.

Sex offenders' register

Following his conviction, Fleischmann was given a community rehabilitation order for three years to run concurrently on each of the 12 counts.

He was also placed on the sex offenders' register and had to attend a sex offender programme.

At the General Dental Council's professional conduct committee in June last year, Fleischmann was suspended for 12 months.

The judge said because he was not sent to prison following his conviction, the committee "lost sight of the true gravity of what he had done".

Material found on his computer at home included more than 2,500 indecent images of children, many aged from 18 months to 10-years-old.

A watchdog called the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) was recently introduced by the Government to safeguard the public in health matters.

The CHRE argued Fleischmann's original suspension was "unduly lenient".