Paedophile primary school teacher jailed after watching live rape of 6-year-old boy

A primary school teacher who took part in the live broadcast of a six-year-old boy being raped has been jailed.

Husband Wayne Brookes worked as a teacher for 10 years while harbouring a secret attraction to children, a court heard.

He downloaded child abuse images from his home and also took part in a paedophile's interactive live stream, during which the young boy was raped.

Brookes, 43, of Arundell Road in Weston-super-Mare, pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children in June.

He was sentenced to 20 months in jail on Tuesday (1 August), having resigned from his post at Westleigh Infant School in Backwell.

As reported by the Bristol Post, Judge Martin Picton told Brookes: "You offended in this way when you were working as a teacher, responsible for young children.

"It would have caused alarm and distress to the community – parents, fellow teachers and pupils would have been horrified by the revelation that one of their number chooses to offend in this way outside of school life."

The court heard how Brookes was caught as part of an operation by the National Crime Agency, which resulted in the conviction of three other men for similar offences.

Brookes was found to have used the online pseudonym "Bear" to log in to a secret online chat room with other like-minded paedophiles.

On one occasion he joined dozens of other internet users in watching a six-year-old boy being orally raped. He could be seen watching the footage on a webcam, naked from the waist up.

Another occasion saw him watch the abuse of a child aged between eight and 10, while a shocking third incident saw him view the oral rape of a baby just six months old, the court heard.

More than 100 child abuse videos and images were found in his possession after he was arrested.

Virginia Cornwall, defending, said her client had not shared any of the illegal material and was unaware that he watched live footage of a child rape.

Brookes reportedly sobbed as Cornwall said her remorseful client had been struggling with stress at work, but did not commit any offences at work.

She told the judge: "Your honour sees him. He clearly is a broken man."

Earlier this month, youth worker Darren Williams, 44, of Newport, was also sentenced for watching the rape of the six-year-old boy.

During the live stream Williams sent messages to the rapist instructing him to "put the sound on" and to "prove it's live" by "smacking" the victim and making him "say hi".

He also sent messages telling chat room users that the rape was about to be streamed and encouraging them to join him in watching it take place.

He was jailed for 11 years at Cardiff Crown Court.

Two other men convicted for linked offences – Philip Crabtree, 35, of Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and Christian Johnson Lueking, 36, of Raynes Park, London – are due to be sentenced at a later date.

The US rapist who broadcast the attack on the six-year-old, a Pennsylvanian named William Chandler Augusta, was uncovered by the Canadian authorities and arrested in the US in February this year.

He was later sentenced for a range of offences to a term of up to 30 years in jail.

His victim was identified by police officers in the US and protective measures taken, the NCA said.