A PRIMARY school caretaker kept indecent images of children among his ‘porn stash’ in a school storeroom.

Colin Holman worked at the Cheshire primary school for 16 years, before retiring early on health grounds in 2022.

The 67-year-old often slept at the school, and had amassed a large collection of photos of female pupils, as well as girls’ uniform items, which he says he took from bins.

He also kept pornographic DVDs and photos at school, printed on A4 paper and laminated, which included two of underage children, a pre-pubescent boy around 10, and a girl around 13, wearing items of school uniform.

Holman, of Warren Avenue, Knutsford, kept these in a locked cupboard, which only he had access to, in the school’s outside store room.

When the new caretaker took up the post in July 2022, he was asked to clean out the cupboard, which he had to force open.

When he saw the contents, he immediately told the head teacher, who passed it on to police.

Officers later searched Holman’s home, where they found more pornography, and press clippings of sexual news stories, one about a rape, and another with the headline ‘I was treated like an animal’.

They also found more pictures of girls from the school he worked in his bedroom drawers. He was arrested and taken to Middlewich custody suite.

He admitted possessing the picture of a naked pre-pubescent boy, which he said he found blowing around the school car park and intended to burn, but forgot.

However, the picture had been laminated, like the rest of his collection, which he referred to as his 'porn stash'.

He denied any knowledge of the indecent picture of a topless underage girl, who wasn't a pupil at his school.

She was wearing no underwear and posing in a sexualised position. This was also laminated.

Holman was charged with two counts of possessing indecent images of children, but denied both, claiming he was ‘just a hoarder’, and stood trial at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Friday, May 17.

Prosecuting, Jessica Pridding asked whether he’d had access to photocopiers and laminators at the school, to which he answered ‘yes’.  

She added: “I put it to you, you have a sexual interest in children.

“You kept the picture of the boy because you wanted to keep it. You laminated it.

“I also suggest you have a sexual interest in girls in school uniform, and to gratify it, you abused a privileged position of trust.

“For you, school was a context where you felt sexually aroused because you have a sexual interest in children.”

Defending, Leslie Herman said the child images found were category C, which she called ‘the least serious kind’, and ‘from the 1970s or 1980s’.  

She added: “My client is a hoarder, and to him, most things are too nice to throw away.

“The other pornographic images found were of adult females, who were topless.”

She asked him why he’d kept pictures of girls at the school where he'd worked. 

He said: “I have no kids or grandkids of my own. To me, these were like my children. We all have our favourites. They’re just pictures of lovely little children.”

After deliberating for about hour, chairman of magistrates, Lynn Colter-Howard, said: “We have gone through all the evidence in great detail and taken a lot of legal advice.

“We don’t accept your account of how you came by the images as a credible one.

“Nor do we accept you kept certain pornographic images at school, but not others.

“We therefore find you guilty on both charges.”

The case was adjourned while the Probation Service produces a pre-sentence report.

Holman was remanded on unconditional bail, to return to Crewe Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Wednesday, June 19.