Deputy Head of Private School Jailed for Addiction to Child Sex Images and Class a Drugs
By Lexi Finnigan
A respected deputy head at a prestigious Catholic school spent his weekends at chemsex child porn parties with paedophiles he met on Grindr, a court heard as judge said the teacher led a "double life". Peter Allott, 37, was accused of having a "split personality" after it was revealed he spent up to ?600 a week on Class A drugs and was addicted to child sex images whilst teaching at St Benedict's School. He kept child abuse images on his iPhone and on a hard drive found in his office at the Ealing-based school, which includes comedian Julian Clary and actor Andy Serkis amongst its former pupils. Jailing Allott for 33 months at Blackfriars Crown Court today Judge Peter Hillen said the teacher was addicted to “debauchery”. Judge Hillen described how Allott turned to chemsex parties and Class A drugs after the deaths of his mother and grandmother.
He said: "The consensual sexual activity between you and other people is of no concern of this court save for it was at the drug parties that you became aware of, and addicted to, indecent images of children. "You watched videos, moving images, of child sex abuse. That would lead you to online chat room Zoom where you and others, as many as 25 at a time I have been told, would watch and exchange the images. "I use the phrase of a paedophile ring, that's precisely what that was.” Allott was a “split personality” and led a “double life”, said Judge Hillen. “Over the weekends you would engage in chemsex parties using crystal meth and m-cat and having sex with multiple partners but also watch these images. "Then on Monday morning you would put on your suit and you would be the brilliant, high-flying deputy was master doing your public duty and your work for society. Allott, a former Tory councillor, also admitted possessing the Class A drug MDMA which was found in a raid of his home, a property tied to the school. Detectives from the National Crime Agency's (NCA) specialist child abuse team arrested Allott and he was charged with possessing nearly 700 illegal images and videos – most of which were found on his hard drive in his office at the school. Michael Shaw, for the prosecution, said: "In interview he stated he engaged seeking homosexual company through an online dating site called Grindr which involved him meeting other men who engaged in taking Class A drugs, normally crystal meth. "In order to attract them he would raise the question of child abuse. If they expressed an interest he offered to show them images he had. "On the hard drive he had a selection of images of different sexes and ages he showed prospective partners on the basis it would arouse them. Allott admitted possessing 25 "grossly offensive" images on a hard drive and sharing them with other offenders on the Zoom photo and video sharing programme. Scandal-hit St Benedict's School and its linked Benedictine monastery, Ealing Abbey, were also condemned in 2011 for a “lengthy and cumulative failure" to protect pupils after five monks and three former teachers were linked to child abuse. Allott, who grew up in Barnsley, Yorkshire, and graduated from St Edmunds College Cambridge and Durham universities, was not involved in the previous scandal. In mitigation, Daniel Taylor said Allott, got into chemsex parties after landing the deputy head job and losing his mother to cancer and then his grandmother. He said: "As his life spiralled out of control those parties, and the individual who attended them, became more debauched in their nature." A spokesman for the school said: “St Benedict's has been shocked and saddened by the offences committed by Mr Allott. He has already resigned and will not be returning to it. "We would reiterate that there remains no evidence any pornographic material was found on school computers or that any other members of the school community have been involved in or exposed to the material Mr Allott was using. "The school believes that our robust safeguarding policies and high-level IT filtering and monitoring facilities have reduced the risk that any pupils could have been subjected to." Allott started working at the school in 2004 and was promoted to deputy head in 2010. He admitted three counts of making indecent photos of children on or before December 7, 2015. He also admitted one count of possessing extreme pornography, one of sharing indecent photos of children and one of possessing a Class A substance. Allott, who must sign the sex offenders register, received 32 months' jail time for the child abuse offences and an extra month for the drugs possession.
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