Southend Teacher May Have Been Judged As "Low Risk"
1 October 2014, 13:59 | Updated: 1 October 2014, 17:04
A teacher from Southend found to have covertly filmed children, after he was discovered dead, may have been assessed as a "low risk'' by detectives, according Essex's Police and Crime Commissioner.
Essex Police began an investigation into allegations that Martin Goldberg, 46, who worked at Thorpe Hall School had bought material online which may have included images of naked teenage boys.
He was found dead the day after they spoke to him at his home in Shoeburyness, where he lived alone.
After his computer was seized, officers discovered hundreds of indecent images.
It has since emerged that Essex Police had been alerted to the concerns about Goldberg, along with 34 other suspected paedophiles, nine months earlier, as part of Canadian police's Operation Spade, but did not act.
Speaking on the BBC's Today programme, the county's PCC Nick Alston said it was clear something had "gone wrong'' but that Goldberg may not have been the force's highest priority, as it dealt with huge amounts of information.
Mr Alston also said the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) had received the information in 2012, but had taken a year to pass it on.
He said the force had charged two people in connection with the Operation Spade intelligence, adding: "It's not as if they were sitting doing nothing, it's a question of priorities''.
Mr Alston added: "My job is to make sure Essex Police are operating as effectively as they can with the resources they have got.
"But this is a case where things have gone wrong.
"It was nine months too long and it should have been sooner.
"We need to find out why, but it's not just resources. We need, and I think we have got, good procedures for acting on the threat of harm to individuals.''
Mr Alston previously said Ceop procedures may have to be reviewed, along with Essex Police's action.
The case is being reviewed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Officers have refused to comment further while this process is carried out.
Goldberg was found dead on September 10. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
It is thought that he had taken images of children at the school and other locations using a hidden camera. These pictures are believed to date back to 2000 and feature boys aged between nine and 12.
Essex Police were originally informed of concerns about Goldberg after police in Toronto, Canada, contacted them in November 2013 with information suggesting that Goldberg had bought videos of naked boys several years ago.
A police spokesman said: "It is important to stress that we have found no evidence of any other offences by Mr Goldberg involving these children.
"At this time there is nothing to suggest that he made inappropriate physical contact with any child.
"The school has co-operated with our investigation and we have also found no evidence to suggest that anyone else was involved in Mr Goldberg's criminal activity.
"There is also no information that he shared any of these images or that anyone else was aware of his offending.''
A police helpline has been set up on 0800 056 0944, or +44 207 158 0010 for anyone living outside the UK.