A FORMER Suffolk College lecturer who downloaded more than 52,000 pictures of child pornography – including some of dead children – has been jailed for 14 months.
By Amanda Cresswell
A SUFFOLK College lecturer who downloaded more than 52,000 pictures of child pornography – including some of dead children – has been jailed for 14 months.
Richard Sugden, 53, who taught Maths at Suffolk College, admitted 15 counts of making indecent photographs of children by copying pictures and movie clips from the internet onto CD Roms.
Sentencing the father of four at Ipswich Crown Court, Judge John Devaux told him: "These offences are not a victimless crime: they fuel the demand for young people to be exhibited in this way."
The offences have brought an end to Sugden's career and he was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years.
Peter Gair, prosecuting, said police searched Sugden's home address in Nottidge Road, Ipswich, in January this year and seized computer equipment and a case containing CD Roms.
More than 50,000 of the images downloaded were at the lowest scale of seriousness but 28 were of the worst type.
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