Teacher Destroys Career, Family and Friends with Child Porn Weakness

Former Woodchurch High teacher jailed after

child sex abuse stash found

Police found indecent images of children as young as four

BY JOSH PARRY, Echo

Mark Haslock, 47, who previously taught at Woodchurch High on Wirral was jailed for eight months at Mold Crown Court, and forced to sign the sex offenders register for the next ten years

A former Wirral teacher has been jailed after police found his stash of thousands of child sex abuse images of children as young as four.

Mark Haslock, 47, who previously taught at Woodchurch High on Wirral was jailed for eight months at Mold Crown Court , and forced to sign the sex offenders register for the next 10 years.

Haslock, of Victoria Road in Llandudno, was also made the subject of a 10-year ‘sexual harm prevention’ order, which prevents him from working with children or vulnerable adults in the future.

The teacher, who most recently worked at Ysgol y Grango at Rhos near Wrexham, was arrested after police found more than 1,200 images on two computers - 280 of which were in the “most graphic” category.

Judge Heywood, speaking via a video link from Swansea Crown Court, said Haslock was a man of “good character” - but that a “darker and different side” had emerged during the trial.

Police had recovered 289 images of the most serious category A, 297 category B and 624 category C, involving children as young as four.

At an earlier trial at Caernarfon a jury convicted him of making and possessing indecent images of children, and taking an indecent image between June 2014 and August 2015.

He was cleared of a charge of voyeurism.

Haslock attempted to defend his actions by saying the images were downloaded while trying to get material for sex education classes.

However Judge Heywood dismissed his excuses as “farcical” - and said he was “still in denial” about the case.

He said: “It gives me no pleasure to sentence you, this is a significant fall from grace.

“You are a talented teacher, a devoted husband and family man highly regarded by friends and professionals alike.”

He doesn't fit my description of a 'devoted' husband and family man! 'Highly regarded' by friends and colleagues only because they didn't really know him. 8 months hardly seems like enough time to turn this man around considering he still doesn't admit he has a problem.

The court heard that the defendant’s wife was also a teacher – but the judge said the teaching profession would no longer be available to him.

“I take the view that I would be failing in my public duty if I did anything other than impose an immediate custodial sentence.” 

I'm not sure, your honour, you didn't still fail in your public duty. Your concern for Haslock and his family is nice, but I wish you were more concerned for the victims of his crimes. More than 1200 images is a significant contribution to the marketplace for images of sexually abusing children, which, of course, requires children to be sexually abused. Haslock is complicit in the sexual abuse of children! Your sentence is a relative slap on the wrist.