Teacher in porn shame; COURT TOLD OF 'BROKEN MAN' WHO WAS HOUNDED FROM HOME AND TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER POLICE DISCOVERED COLLECTION OF 1,200 PHOTOS OF BOYS.
SHAMED teacher John Skermer and his 80-year-old mother were hounded from their Coventry home by neighbours after he was accused of child porn.Warwick Crown Court also heard the former head of year seven at Coventry's top performing school also tried to take his life on several occasions after being charged with taking and possessing indecent photographs of children.
The 51-year-old, who lived with his mother at Allesley Old Road, Chapelfields, was handed a three- month prison sentence suspended for 12 months yesterday.
The senior maths teacher was also ordered to register as a convicted sex offender until 2006.
He had admitted four charges of taking indecent photographs of children and five charges of possessing indecent photographs of children, at Coventry Magistrates Court last month.
Andrew Lockhart, prosecuting, said: "These are specimen charges. "There are a large number of other indecent photographs, about 1,200, among a vast collection of photographs. He admitted he thought young boys looked graceful when naked, but denied being a homosexual or paedophile.''
Skermer had taken photographs of two 12 or 14-year-olds fishing in Northamptonshire in 1988 or 1989. He also took photos of a naked boy on a naturist beach in Wales.
Skermer also took pictures of naked boys from a King Henry VIII rugger team in a bath following a cup final, and underwater pictures of three boys he got to wear thong-style swimming trunks in a pool at Bablake School.
Illustrated French brochures offering videos and photographs of young children, boys and girls, in sexual poses had also been sent to Skermer, care of the school.
Defending, Lawrence Watts said Skermer was a "truly broken man."
"The great tragedy is here was a man who over the years contributed an enormous amount to the lives of people, not only pupils and staff in the school, but those who have had him as their friend.
"They speak of him as a man of high calibre, high devotion and high commitment. He has not sought to excuse his behaviour. He has accepted it was wrong and is thoroughly ashamed .''
Mr Watts added the last picture taken by Skermer was in 1990.
Sentencing Skermer to three months in prison, concurrent for each of the nine offences, suspended for 12 months, Judge Richard Cole told him he had "already suffered considerably."
"Your career is in tatters, you have lost your self respect. But your references are numerous and speak only of you in the highest possible way.
"There is no suggestion of coercion or manipulation and there was no suggestion of any sexual activity.''
Checks made to protect children
COVENTRY education chiefs want to ensure there is no repeat of the King Henry VIII scandal.
Although King Henry VIII is a private school, it has adopted the same stringent checks as the city council for its staff.
Councillor Joe Clifford, chairman of Coventry's educational excellence policy team, said: "The personal safety of the children in our schools is our top priority.
"We go to great lengths to check the backgrounds of all staff who will be working with children and young people.''
Chris Burrows, education personnel manager for Coventry City Council, added: "All local authorities carry out two checks on prospective employees, who will be working with children and young people. Firstly, we check List 99, which is held by the Department for Education and Employment and contains the names of local authority employees who have been found to pose a threat to young people.
"In addition, staff who will be working in unsupervised close contact with children and young people are required to fill in a police criminal check form, and West Midlands Police carry out a full check before they are offered the post.''
Parcel that led to police inquiry
AS FORMER King Henry teacher John Skermer was sentenced, detectives spoke of the "slice of luck" and extensive inquiries that had brought him and his former boss to justice.
The teacher's suspended jail term comes just two months after former head teacher Terence Vardon was fined pounds 4,000 for possession of child porn pictures.
And although the two cases were not linked, detectives today revealed how Skermer's arrest prompted a massive investigation that also brought Vardon before the courts.
Detective Inspector Dave Mirfield, who led the investigation, said it was one of the largest of its kind in the area in recent years and involved Customs and Excise and the West Midlands paedophilia and pornography unit.
John Skermer, head of year seven and a senior maths teacher at King Henry VIII, had been taking secret snaps of naked and semi-naked boys, including some former pupils, for a number of years.
He was caught when customs officers intercepted a porn brochure from Europe addressed to him.
That prompted an extensive investigation and record checks showed that fellow King Henry teacher Vardon had been stopped two years before coming into Britain in possession of pornographic material.
No action had been taken, but the King Henry connection led to police raiding Vardon's Leamington home, where they found photographs and videos.
Police experts also retrieved obscene pictures downloaded from the world wide web, which Vardon thought he had deleted.
Det Insp Mirfield said: "We have computer experts in our paedophilia and pornography unit who can undelete stuff which people may think they have safely binned and cannot be traced.
"Some computer disks can have thousands of pictures on them - photographs and videos - and that is becoming a big problem, but we have our own experts who are ahead of the game and can catch them out.
"I cannot remember dealing with two teachers from the same school being arrested.
"At first we did not know whether we had infiltrated a ring, but it turned out Skermer and Vardon were unconnected.''
He added: "It has been one of the biggest investigations of its kind for some years.
"We had an awful amount of seized property to sift through and set up an incident room, of the kind we use for murders.
We spent weeks going through all the items, piece by piece, working very closely with Customs and Excise, and also experts at the paedophilia and pornography unit.
"Although Vardon was out of the country at the time of Skermer's arrest, we had enough information on him, through intelligence, to warrant a search on his home.''
Coventry social services were brought in, working closely with the school, and offering counselling to all those affected.
Skermer, who admitted taking photographs of naked and semi-naked boys, including former pupils, had used equipment at the school to develop his pictures, and also had packages sent to the school rather than the Allesley Old Road home he shared with his elderly mother.
In the earlier case Vardon, aged 50, of Bankfield Drive, Leamington, admitted possessing photographs and videos of children in sexually explicit poses. He had also used the world wide web to download indecent pictures.
Vardon's new life in Germany
TERENCE VARDON is believed to have started a new life in Germany with the woman he married at Warwick Register Office in April.
The 50-year-old only has to register as a sex offender and keep police informed of his movements in the UK for five years.
And despite Interpol having been informed of his conviction, it is possible he could begin teaching on the continent.
Vardon, former head of North Leamington School, and head of the sixth form at Binswood, Leamington, married Marianne Katharina Erika Von Einsiedel, a 41-year-old freelance organist and organ teacher.
It is thought the pair could return to her home town of Dresden. If he returned to Britain after five years he would not have to register as a sex offender.
Jane Johnson, an expert in employment law and European Union law at Coventry University, said there would be no block to Vardon getting a job elsewhere in the EU.
She said: "Unless there is evidence of him being a danger to public safety there would be no bar to him living or even getting a job in Germany. Obviously, he would need a reference to get a job in teaching.
"Previous convictions are deemed evidence of personal conduct and can be taken into account. If would-be employers consider a previous conviction is serious enough, obviously he would not be likely to get a job. It is important that information such as previous convictions is passed on.''
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| Author: | Education, MARK FORSTER |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Coventry Evening Telegraph (England) |
| Date: | Jul 17, 1999 |
| Words: | 1400 |
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