A paedophile school teacher and rugby coach who took upskirting photos of his female pupils and stored indecent images of children on his work laptop has been jailed.
Former coach Richard Lees, 43, stored child abuse images as well as extreme pornography on the laptop which was issued by the school in Macclesfield, Cheshire, where he worked.
Lees was first arrested in July 2022 for an unrelated offence for which police took no further action.
However, as part of their investigations officers seized devices from him including a personal encrypted hard drive and the laptop.
Police found the most serious ‘category A’ images of children on the devices, as well as extreme pornography.
The ex-teacher denied possession of the images and claimed someone else must have gained access to the device – but he was charged with possession of indecent images of children in September 2023.
Further investigation of his encrypted hard drive found upskirting photos of female pupils that Lees had apparently taken on school grounds while working at the school.
Officers also found videos Lees had taken of women in his bathroom at home, without their knowledge.
Richard Lees, 43, has been jailed for two years for offences which included upskirting female pupils and possessing indecent images of children
Lees, from Cheadle, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to five offences of voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children, and possession of extreme pornography at Chester Crown Court (pictured)
He was again arrested in September 2024 and charged over the new offences the following month.
Lees, from Cheadle, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to five offences of voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children, and possession of extreme pornography at Chester Crown Court.
He was jailed for two years on Friday, February 7.
Cheshire Police’s detective constable Alison Shields said: ‘Firstly, we would like to commend the victims of the voyeurism for their courage throughout this investigation and subsequent court process.
‘Lees held a position of trust and should have been someone children could go to for support. Instead, he was hiding a twisted secret.
‘He even had the audacity to store some of the indecent images of children on a school-issued laptop.
‘Thankfully, Lees’ shocking crimes were uncovered and our officers worked hard to gather a catalogue of evidence against him and bring him before the courts.
‘I hope this will also encourage anyone who may have been a victim of any similar offences to come forward and report it to us.’
