Vicar jailed over child porn crimes

by Dave Keating | September 26, 2008 at 12:19 am

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The Reverend Richard Hart, who became notorious in the UK after 56,000 images of child pornography were discovered on his computer, has today started his prison sentence. On the same day, a charity has used the opportunity to warn that child pornography is currently growing at "a phenomenal rate."

A vicar has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for amassing a collection of more than 56,000 indecent images of children.

The Reverend Richard Hart, 59, of Whopshott Avenue, Horsell, Woking, appeared before Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to 12 charges of making indecent images of children, four of taking indecent photographs of children and five of possessing such images in offences dating back as far as 1991.

The court heard when police raided Hart's vicarage in Beguildy, near Knighton, Mid Wales, in January of this year they found what was described by prosecutor Ieuan Morris as a "veritable Aladdin's Cave" of paedophile material.

Hart, who was suspended from all duties by the Church in Wales following his arrest, was also disqualified from working with children by Judge Michael Burr.

He will also be subject to a 10-year sexual prevention order upon his release that was modified to allow the trained computer programmer to perhaps find paid work with computers.