Mathew Hargreaves

A former primary school headteacher who took an indecent photograph of a child and possessed child sexual abuse images has been jailed for two years and one month.

Mathew Hargreaves, 48, from Halewood, who led King’s Northway Primary Academy in the Wavertree area of Liverpool was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, 23 October – Today

Hargreaves had previously been arrested and charged with three offences of making indecent images of children, covering Categories A, B and C.

Category A is the most serious classification – showing child rape and sexual torture

He remained in custody on remand and, in September, pleaded guilty to a further offence of taking an indecent Category C image of a child. He was sentenced today

In a powerful victim personal statement, one victim described feeling sick after seeing the photograph and being left constantly on edge.

“I saw the photo and it was a lot worse than I thought… it’s made me feel sick to think about. I feel like I am on edge now, like I always need to be alert.”

The victim also described the distress of discovering when the photograph had been taken and the fear that others might have seen it.

“My biggest fear out of them all is where he shared it, how many people — if he has — did he share it with? What was his intention with that image?”

Those questions reveal the uncertainty the victim continues to face. The statement does not establish that the photograph was shared.

Alongside his 25-month prison sentence, Hargreaves was made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.