(Image: CLEVELAND POLICE)
A paedophile teacher who took pictures of schoolgirls and used them to create sickening AI child pornography has been jailed.
David Duncalfe, who has worked at schools across Teesside for a decade, created images of real children - some as young as three - to feed his sadistic sexual interests.
The depraved 39-year-old converted images of 18 real children into pictures and videos of abuse through AI software, even imposing himself on some of them as the perpetrator.
Duncalfe, a dad to two young children, even harvested some of the images from school prospectuses and posters and took others from social media.
The ordeal was made even worse after several young victims discovered their involvement in the images just hours before sitting an exam.
On Friday (October 16), at Teesside Crown Court, he was jailed for eight years.
Mr Perks, prosecuting, said Duncalfe, from Guisborough, had a “clear and present interest in sadistic abuse of children” and had displayed this across his teaching career.
He said Duncalfe, who admitted the offences in July, had been found with a staggering 2,465 Category A images, 586 Category B images, 1183 Category C images, and 61 extreme pornographic images involving an animal.
Some of these included children being raped by an adult male.
The court also heard there were several “creep” images, including an inappropriate image of a schoolgirl by a desk, videos of women in public and videos of teachers where he worked.
“The defendant also edited himself into a significant number of pseudo images as the perpetrator of the abuse,” he said.
“The youngest child used by the defendant in this creation was three to four years of age.
“Another was four to five years of age and that could feature in about 200 indecent pseudo images over a number of months.
“Their likeness had been used to create depictions of child abuse”.
‘Behind every image is a real child’
Mr Perks said there was evidence throughout that Duncalfe’s actions have had “profound impact on his child victims”.
“Parents speak of their children’s development being profoundly affected," he said. “The children have experienced emotions of shame and embarrassment.”
13 victim impact statements were provided to the court, with one victim saying what Duncalfe had taken from them “is difficult to quantify”.
“He has damaged the trust, he has created fear, and he has left us with questions that may never fully disappear,” they said.
“He is causing me to question how any parent can protect their children. Behind every image is a real child, a real family, and a lasting legacy of harm.”
The court heard how every child used to create a pseudo image has been traced and identified.
Duncalfe was caught out when police received information about an AI image of a child, no older than ten, and tracked him down.
He was arrested and police seized his laptop, phone, and USB sticks, finding images and videos in a hidden images folder on his phone and photos in a photo vault app.
He initially denied the allegations and was bailed.
‘Fragile’ Duncalfe has ‘destroyed his family’
Ms Johnstone, defending, said it was “clearly serious offending” and that she does not want to "diminish the irreplaceable harm” caused by Duncalfe.
She noted how, prior to this offending, the defendant was of good character with no previous convictions, cautions, or warnings.
The court heard how Duncalfe had a “very difficult childhood” which, as a result, had considerable psychological effects during the course of his life.
“He is genuinely sorry,” she said. “He has destroyed his own family. He is the father of two young children and since being on remand he has had no contact with them.
“He only has himself to blame.”
Ms Johnstone said he has “fragile” mental health and is currently suffering from a depressive episode, meaning he will find a prison stretch “difficult”.
Judge Jo Kidd said he was a "highly respected and well thought of by the community, family, and work” but that this was a “total mark of deception”.
Duncalfe pleaded guilty to nine charges, including making and possessing indecent and prohibited images of children and possessing extreme pornographic images, including acts involving animals.
Sentencing, she said that, in her view, Duncalfe “embarked on a teaching career partly because you had a sexual interest in girls” and this conduct was “maintained” across his time in work.
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“You took pleasure from knowing that innocent children were the subject of your depraved videos and that you took delight from their degradation,” she said.
She also referenced a report found that stated Duncalfe was at high risk of causing serious harm towards children and as a "dangerous offender”.
Duncalfe, who appeared in court via a video link from HMP Holme House but is previously of Aldenham Road in Guisborough, was jailed for eight years and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He was also subject to an automatic barring.
Officer in the Case, Detective Constable David Riley, said: “The nature of David Duncalfe’s offending is abhorrent, and I am pleased he is now behind bars where he belongs.
“This case has significantly impacted a local school community, and I hope today’s result provides them with some comfort and closure that Duncalfe can no longer pose any threat of harm.
“The families who have been directly affected by this investigation have shown strength and integrity throughout what has been a challenging time and my thanks go to them for their invaluable support”.