Shame of child porn barrister

Jan 6 2005 By Paul James, The Journal

A leading North-East barrister's career was in ruins last night after he admitted downloading thousands of child pornography files to his computer.

John Temple, a criminal law specialist on the North-East court circuit, pleaded guilty to 34 offences including the possession of more than 3,700 indecent images of children.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that 382 of the photographs found in his possession were among the two most serious categories of child pornography.

But he denied police allegations that he played a "commanding role" in distributing the images around the internet.

Temple, 45, who practised from Durham Barristers' Chambers in Old Elvet, Durham City, was granted bail and is now awaiting sentence.

He pleaded guilty to 16 offences of making indecent photographs, 17 of distributing them and one of possessing 3,753 images between January 1, 2000, and May 27 last year.

Temple, now living with his father in Scarborough, was a familiar face in courts across the region until his arrest on June 2 last year as part of an investigation by the National Crime Squad.

He is also a former officer with North Yorkshire Police.

His home in North-West Durham and his chambers in the city were both raided.

During the 90-minute hearing yesterday before the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe, QC, Temple's defence barrister, Robert Woodcock, said the lawyer was "now living on his uppers".

The married family man is a member of the prestigious Lincoln's Inn society and was called to the Bar in 1998.

His late career change came after he served in both the Royal Navy and the North Yorkshire Police force, where he worked in CID, drugs squad and in the firearms unit.

His profile is still on the Durham

barristers' website, which describes him as enjoying cooking and fine food, and having "a wealth of experience in the courts, not only as an advocate, but also as a witness, having served as a police officer".

The website profile also says: "John has quickly developed a crown court and Court of Appeal presence and receives regular instructions to defend cases involving conspiracies, supply of class-A drugs, violent disorder, other public order offences, theft, obtaining by deception and all manner of assaults."

Mr Woodcock yesterday said Temple denied the suggestion put to him by police in interview about his role in the distribution ring.

He said: "The suggestion that he played a fairly commanding role in deciding who received what and who did not is vehemently denied."

Judge Globe remanded Temple on bail with a condition of residence and reporting once a week to Scarborough police station.

He ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register, though the length of the order will not be decided until he is sentenced.