A FORMER Kent head teacher convicted of child pornography charges arising from an addiction to downloading files from the internet, has been given a community penalty.

John Tyler, 52, a one-time head at Dartford's West Hill primary schoool and also a former school inspector, was arrested after police searched his home in Heathview Crescent, Dartford.

They took away two computers on which were indecent still images and some movie images of children.

Tyler was tried at Canterbury Crown Court where he denied 16 charges of making indecent photos of children in 2002. He was convicted of all offences on June 10 and remanded in custody for reports and sentencing.

Tyler’s family sat in the public gallery as Judge Timothy Nash told Tyler, who he branded ‘arrogant and self-possessed’ after the trial – that it was probably his barrister’s mitigation that saved him from a custodial sentence.

He was made subject of a three-year community rehabilitation order with a condition he attends the Thames Valley rehabilitation course for sex offenders. He is now on the sex offenders' register for five years and must pay £2,220 prosecution costs.

Maria Dineen said that since the trial, there had been a shift in position on Tyler’s part and he accepted he had behaved inappropriately, had shown remorse and now accepted he would benefit from treatment.

Judge Nash said there was no credit for a guilty plea and said he had to balance if public interest dictated there should be a sentence in the region of 14 months or he took a relatively exceptional course and imposed a community penalty.

He said Tyler was a liar, having lied to himself so by the time police interviews were over, he had persuaded himself he was totally innocent when he knew perfectly well he wasn’t.

“Sadly you and your family have to come to terms with the fact you are guilty and you have admitted it,” said Judge Nash.

He said justice would be served by a community penalty. “There was no publishing for gain or otherwise and I am not dealing with thousands of images, only 16.

“You were obsessed by use of the computer. You were quite happy to search the Internet for pornography albeit not always of the criminal kind.”

Judge Nash said it was the children in the images who were being abused and it didn’t matter whether they were in “America, Taiwan or good old Blighty. They will suffer all the while this material is being downloaded.”

He told Tyler he would have to do some thinking and: “Put your arrogance on the back burner.”

Judge Nash said he had been influenced by Tyler’s previous good character, his professional background and that he had served the community in various ways.

“What you have done caused great shame and distress to your family. I hope in the fullness of time they find it in their hearts to forgive you,” said Judge Nash.

Miss Dineen said for a man of impeccable character, the proceedings had been an ordeal from start to finish.

She said he was nervous at the trial and there was another side, not readily visible, to Tyler.

He took early retirement because of health problems and was being treated for anxiety and depression.

The files he downloaded via the file-sharing programme Kazaa were denied to other users and he already served the equivalent of a two months sentence.

She asked the court to consider the impact of a custodial sentence on Tyler’s family who continued to support him and depended on him.

His background would make him very vulnerable prisoner, said Miss Dineen.