High School Teacher Who Was Caught With ‘Almost 2,000 Horrific Child Abuse Images’ Avoids Jail Time

A trusted high school geography teacher in Romiley, Stockport, was caught with almost 2,000 horrific child abuse images, but was able to avoid jail time, reported the Mirror. In May of last year, 25-year-old Manchester University graduate Jonathan Horenfeld of Signal Close, Eccles, was arrested after police officials raided his home and discovered child porn images on his laptop.

Investigators were able to track down the high school teacher while investigating “peer-to-peer sites where perverts shared sickening photos,” attempting to bust online pedophiles. The school teacher left an “electronic trail” that led investigators to his home, where the teacher was presented with a search warrant.

Jonathan Horenfeld – Eccles/Stockport https://t.co/f00XhiLMbc pic.twitter.com/rOmPAqMjcx

— PinnacleInvestigator (@PinnacleIn) May 5, 2016

While searching the teacher’s home, investigators discovered “two laptops and two hard drives containing nearly 2,000 child porn images,” which stunned the community.

Sources say that the teacher stole one of the hard drives from his colleague’s classroom at Harrytown Catholic High School, where he worked and used it to download child pornography from the internet. However, it was not immediately clear if the child porn images he downloaded were of the students he taught.

The high school teacher was arrested and incarcerated for 12 weeks, but not for downloading child porn images from the internet. A judge ordered Horenfeld to remain in jail for stealing a hard drive from one of his colleague’s classroom, according to the Manchester Evening News.

During the sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court, his attorney, Peter Malone, stated that “the investigation started in the summer of 2015, and he has been living in a nightmare of his own making since. He understands that he’s here because of what he’s done — but what it has done to him and his family has been quite significant.”

“Mr. Horenfield trained as a teacher and worked as a teacher, but that profession is no longer open to him due to these offenses.”

Malone went on to say that the school teacher’s “partner is also affected as she is unable to work as a nursery nurse now. His parents are shocked as to the possible reason for these offenses occurring.”

“He is someone who is ashamed and wishes to apologize. He understands what these types of offenses mean to the victims — that there is a bigger effect down the line.”

Judge Michael Henshell responded to the school teacher’s attorney by stating that the “offenses involving pornographic images of children are regarded by members of the general public as revolting.”

“Fortunately, most people in day-to-day life never come across these images, never have to look at them and don’t realize how revolting they are. Of course you do — it became an addiction for you to look at these images.”

Horenfield’s attorney added that his interest in downloading child porn images stemmed from a “traumatic childhood experience, and that he had been seeking professional help to change.”

MANCHESTER NEWS: Schools Directory: Harrytown Catholic High School:
The essential inform… http://t.co/2Yj3MiVUPw #manchester #uknews

— M24NM (@M24NM) August 18, 2015

However, in lieu of Jonathan Horenfeld serving jail time after he was caught with almost 2,000 horrific child abuse images in his home, a judge sentenced the high school teacher to a “three-year community order, with a 60-day rehabilitation activity requirement.” He was also ordered to “subject to a sexual offense prevention order, which restricts his contact with children and internet use.”

After learning he was spared jail time for downloading child porn images, the geography teacher was reportedly seen leaving court “laughing and joking.”

Social media users weren’t exactly thrilled that the Harrytown Catholic High School teacher was spared jail time. Several people asked “why” would the teacher be spared jail time after being caught with child porn images? And some asked: “Can someone please go and set fire to this c**t?”

Another social media user posted to Twitter asking, “If child porn is so revolting, why did Parliament change the law so that police can produce new child porn images?”

[Image via Shutterstock]