19-month custodial sentence for former Ballakermeen staff member
A former teacher from Ballakermeen High School has been jailed for 19 months after producing and possessing indecent photographs of children.
Liam Paul Taylor was told he’d ‘abused’ his position of trust during sentencing at Douglas Courthouse (20 March).
The 26-year-old, who now resides in Darwen in the United Kingdom, had previously pleaded guilty to six offences – four of production and two of possession – which were committed on 27 May 2024.
Police found 43 indecent images on his computer after arresting him, on an unrelated matter, on 7 June.
Students
Officers identified that 31 of the images concerned two female students from the secondary school.
These had been created from moving footage which Taylor had covertly taken of them, on his iPhone, whilst they were studying in the classroom and library.
The court heard he’d then transferred this ‘innocent’ footage onto his computer before using artificial intelligence technology to manipulate it into indecent pseudo images.
“They look like they are real photographs,” the prosecutor told the court.
Taylor was interviewed twice by police, in August and in January this year, but answered no comment to all questions asked.
The court was told no contact offences had been committed and neither student wished to make a victim impact statement ahead of sentencing.
‘One moment in time’
Taylor’s advocate told the court his client had doctored the original footage a number of times to the point it had become ‘almost unrecognisable’.
“The issue is, of course, he was a teacher and he focussed on those children,” he acknowledged.
He added that Taylor was suffering from poor mental health at the time, including depression, adding his offending had been isolated to ‘one moment in time’.
“He’s lost his career and finding employment is going to be very difficult for him. These offences are going to follow him for many years into the future.” - Advocate
‘Wrong message’
Sentencing Taylor to immediate custody Deemster Graeme Cook said it wasn’t a ‘straightforward sentence’ adding: “I cannot suspend the sentence. There is no good reason to.
“If I were to suspend the sentence it might send out the wrong message.”
He also imposed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a five-year exclusion order which means Taylor will be excluded from the Isle of Man on his release from prison.
“Children should be able to go to school and be educated. I cannot imagine what they (the students) and their parents thought when the police came knocking on their door to tell them what had happened.” – Deemster Graeme Cook
School
Following Taylor’s appearance in court in January the headteacher of Ballakermeen wrote to parents and carers saying the school wanted to reaffirm that the 'safety and wellbeing of children' is the 'utmost priority'.
The letter added: "The department has strict safeguarding policies in place and will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure these are upheld."
Support
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this story there are details of local organisations that provide advice and support HERE.
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