Former school IT worker from Maidstone jailed for installing software to spy on people
14:20, 05 March 2021
updated: 08:00, 08 March 2021
A former school IT technician installed software onto work computers to spy on staff and was found with hundreds of indecent images of children.
Police were were tipped off about Andrew Cakebread, from Maidstone and launched an investigation.
They had been passed information the 36-year-old had indecent images of children on his computers but the investigation led officers to discover footage that appeared to be from software installed on staff computers that allowed him to spy.
In February 2019 officers from Kent Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation team executed a warrant at his home address in Lower Stone Street, Maidstone.
He was arrested and officers took a desktop computer and external hard drive where they found 712 indecent images and 206 videos of children.
None of these images or videos involved anyone at his place of work.
When officers searched the hard drive they also found videos of adults and children being filmed while working at computers and laptops.
Cakebread’s employers were unaware the software had been installed and had not authorised it to be.
The hard drive was found to contain a total of 6,724 videos of staff members and their family members, plus a further 79 webcam videos.
This led to his further arrest in March last year.
A further review revealed covert footage taken in the staff toilets which led to further interviews.
Cakebread was also charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, observing a person doing a private act and causing a computer to perform a function to secure or enable unauthorised access to a programme or data.
He pleaded guilty to the offences in October and he has now been jailed for 30 months after appearing at Maidstone Crown Court.
The school's head said in a statement: “We can confirm a former member of has been convicted of offences relating to indecency.
“The school has fully supported Kent Police in their investigations.
“The member of staff left the school’s employment several years before. They were in a non-teaching, non-class-based role and were never left unsupervised with children.
“Kent Police has assured us that no pupil was involved in any way."
Investigating officer Christina Rookes added: "The breach of trust in this case is astounding.
"Andrew Cakebread was in a position of trust and used that to spy on people in their private activities.
"Additionally he accessed a large amount of child abuse images, fully understanding the impact upon the children involved, but nonetheless continued to exploit them.
"I am pleased our detailed investigation has uncovered the full extent of his offending and that he has been brought to justice."
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “By downloading child abuse images, Cakebread has fuelled the demand for material in this sickening online trade.
“These crimes are far from victimless and the trauma faced by children exploited in this way can last long into adulthood without the appropriate support.
“This is why we continue to call on the UK Government to press ahead with a comprehensive Online Safety Bill that forces tech firms to do more to prevent child abuse images appearing on their sites and to remove them if they do.”
Anyone with any concerns about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or visit nspcc.org.uk for advice.
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