KIDS ORDERED TO ABUSE THEMSELVES IN DEPRAVED ONLINE GAME
Ron Moore
A scowling Pa i s l ey teacher who filmed young girls sexually abusing themselves has been jailed for three years.
Depraved Craig Wood, 52, who previously worked at Paisley Grammar School, exposed himself and encouraged youngsters to play a perverted online video game.
He also downloaded and
hoarded almost 1,000 indecent images and films of children for more than twoand-half years until he was rumbled by child protection cops.
The teacher, from Morvern Avenue, Glenburn, preyed on girls aged between 11 and 15 between August 2014 and February 2017, when he was arrested.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Wood, who also taught at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow, yesterday appeared for sentencing after pleading guilty to charges of making indecent photographs by downloading them, possessing a quantity of illegal images, and forcing children to expose themselves to him during online chats.
Sheriff Susan Sinclair had asked for background reports, including one from the Pathways Project which works with sex offenders, before handing down her sentence.
His defence agent told the court that Wood claimed he may have been suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome and asked the court to have a psychological assessment carried out before sentencing him.
The lawyer said: “The accused had asked for a psychological assessment to be carried out. But this was prohibitively expensive. I would like to make a motion to have that assessment carried out.”
However Sheriff Sinclair said: “What difference does it make to the sentence? It does not give me more sentencing options. I am afraid I am not with you in that motion.”
The court also heard Wood had shirked his responsibilty for abusing the kids when he was first interviewed by social workers after his arrest.
The solicitor said: “The reports show the accused was very reluctant to accept responsibility for the impact his conduct has had.
“It was after the next meeting with social work that he began to accept the impact of his actions. But he accepts these are very serious charges to which he has pleaded guilty too.
“He is 52 years of age. He has had no involvement with the court prior to this case. He was previously employed as a teacher but after substantial press coverage of this it resulted in his being suspended. He is unemployed at this moment and living off his savings.”
The lawyer urged the court to consider handing Wood a community- based disposal despite his being assessed as “medium risk” by the authorities.
The agent said: “Taking into account his age, his lack of previous offending and the fact he has accepted what he was doing by way of his plea of guilty, clearly there is scope for him to be given a community based disposal.”
However Sheriff Sinclair said: “For two and a half years you were able to contact females aged between nine and 15 in the context of web communications from which you made video recordings of the children exposing themselves, and you exposed yourself to the children, and you created videos of the contact.
“Three videos were at category A, 26 were at category B and 62 were at category C and these videos ranged from a few minutes to a couple of hours.”
She added: “You used our position as a teacher. It gave you knowledge of the groups involved and you used that knowledge to target the groups of minors involved.”
Wood who also admitted possessing 959 indencent images was told there was only one suitable sentence.
Sheriff Sinclair told him: “There is no suitable alternative to a sentence of imprisonment. Had it not been for your guilty plea, the sentence would have been for four years.”
Wood was also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for an indefinite period of time.
After the sentencing, Detective Inspector Tom Carty from the Public Protection Unit, based in Paisley, said: “We are committed to protecting vulnerable people. Those who wish to exploit young people for their own gratification will find themselves being investigated, arrested and in court.”