A former Coventry teacher who posed as a 15-year-old girl  to groom children online has been jailed.

Alaric Bristow, of Ventnor Close, Wyken, had set up a well organised system to encourage boys aged between 12-16 to share images and videos with him.

Creating social network profiles in which he claimed to be a teenage girl, twister Bristow amassed a library of nearly 5,000 images of children.

He was initially arrested last September at his home by officers from the West Midlands Police Online Child Exploitation Team (OCSET) and bailed.

However, in December he was arrested again having been found to have breached his bail conditions.

In January Bristow pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to 12 counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and 10 counts of making or possession of indecent images.

On Friday he was sentenced to a five year custodial sentence with an extended licence period, during which time he will be monitored, of six years.

He was ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

Detective Constable Ian Russell, from OCSET, said: “Bristow created folders and spreadsheets on his laptop in order to keep track of his numerous fake profiles and his large number of contacts, detailing the different stages of each ‘relationship’. 

“Even after his initial arrest, Bristow could not abstain from his deviant behaviour and breached his bail conditions by obtaining a laptop and accessing the internet to continue offending. More than 1,000 images were found to have been stored.

“As a school teacher he was in a position of trust and should have known the devastating emotional effect this type of abuse can have on young people.

“I would like to thank those who have been brave enough to speak to us for their help in securing this sentence and also the partnership agencies for their collaborative support."

West Midlands Police always take reports of Child Sexual Exploitation seriously and have specially trained officers who can speak to victims sensitively. We also work with a number of other agencies who can offer support. For more information visit:  https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/child-sexual-abuse

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