Pervert class helper jailed for porn haul

A VOLUNTEER classroom assistant at a city primary school who was caught with pornography involving children as young as four has been jailed for 20 months.

Moray Kent Nicholson, who was on work experience at Corstorphine Primary at the time he was viewing the images, was also told he will be supervised for two years following his release after being sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The 22-year-old, who once dressed as Santa Claus for pupils, was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard that Nicholson possessed a “significant number” of images of children as young as four at Level 4 – the second highest “grade” of abuse on the sentencing scale – involving children being sexually abused by adults.

Nicholson also had images of children as young as six which were at Level 5 on the scale, involving sadism or bestiality.

Sentencing him yesterday, Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie QC said: “I’m of no doubt that no other sentence other than imprisonment can reflect the serious nature of the offence.”

Last week, the court heard that Nicholson blamed his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after being caught with the porn stash.

His defence agent, Gavin Anderson, told the court that Nicholson had collected the images for the “rush of doing something prohibited rather than sexual gratification”.

Mr Anderson said the offending took place against a “background of ADHD”, which partly led Nicholson to drop out of university.

He added that his client had no previous convictions, and there was “nothing to suggest Mr Nicholson poses an actual risk to children”.

Nicholson earlier pleaded guilty to taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent or pseudo-photographs of children at the family home in Saughtonhall Drive, Murrayfield, between July 24, 2010 and October 13, 2010.

Council chiefs said that none of the children at the school, where Nicholson’s mother, Anne Kent, also works as a teacher, was involved in the case.

The school insisted that Nicholson, who now lives in Yardheads in Leith, never had “unsupervised access” with pupils at the time. He was a voluntary classroom assistant at Corstorphine Primary during September and October 2010.

He underwent and passed a full disclosure check to be allowed to work at the school.

Speaking last month, Nicholson claimed he had not worked at the school, but had “played Santa once”. He refused to comment on the court case.