Shamed teacher jailed for child abuse offences

Former Menzieshill High School teacher posed as solicitor to send letter to inmate

A shamed teacher who posed as a lawyer in a bid to send twisted child abuse fantasy letters to a jailed paedophile he had met behind bars has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Robert Lightband was previously a respected history teacher at Dundee’s Menzieshill High School.

But he was yesterday starting a lengthy jail term after attempting to defraud prison guards at HMP Perth into passing a 14 page document containing “graphic and distressing” descriptions of the abuse of children to convicted paedophile Jason Jordan.

Serial sex offender Jordan was last year put on a lifelong restriction order and ordered to spend at least four years in jail after being caught in possession of child abuse images.

Lightband, who was jailed last year for his second child abuse images downloading offence, wrote “legal correspondence” on the front of his letter, which purported to come from an Edinburgh law firm called Goodwin Moir, because letters between solicitors and their clients are not usually opened by jail staff for confidentiality.

But prison guards were suspicious because the “legal correspondence” line was hand written and the letter was not franked as legal letters usually are.

An investigation revealed there was no such firm as Goodwin Moir so the letter was opened.

Inside they found a two-page letter purporting to be from “Robert Lightband solicitor”.

More disturbingly, a 12-page document was attached in which Lightband spelled out depraved fantasies to Jordan, who the court heard he had “acquainted” in Perth Prison’s sex offender unit.

Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court Lightband had been released from jail in May last year, and confessed he had immediately begun downloading the images once released.

She said: “The accused’s laptop was seized under the terms of his sexual offences prevention order.

“When he was detained he said ‘there will be stuff you don’t like on the computer’.

“He freely admitted downloading indecent images since May 16, when he was released from prison.

“He deleted his search histories and his downloads which is contrary to the order he is subject to.”

Lightband, 70, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of attempted fraud committed on September 29 last year and breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

Defence solicitor John Boyle said: “He is well aware given his record and his most recent conviction that custody is inevitable.”

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed Lightband for three-and-a-half years.

He also placed Lightband on the sex offenders register for 10 years and imposed a 10-year sexual offences prevention order.

Robert Lightband was given three-and-a-half year sentence.