Kristian Parry, 27, has been jailed for two years after admitting fraud by false representation for faking references to gain employment at a nursery. The offence took place between June 17 and September 20 last year, while he was already under investigation for possessing indecent images of children.
Arrest and Previous Conviction
In May last year, Parry, of Middleton, Leeds, was arrested at a nursery where he worked on suspicion of possessing indecent and prohibited images. Officers found thousands of images and videos on his phone, including a screensaver of a baby in a nappy.
Two months after his arrest, Parry obtained a job at a different nursery. He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court in March this year for the indecent images offences and was issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He is currently serving a sentence of three years and eight months for those offences.
DBS Check Flaw
Parry should have completed a DBS check before being hired, which would have flagged his arrest. However, the check did not reveal it because his new employer used the update service, which only checks for non-conviction information every nine months.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police confirmed the force has contacted the Home Office about the DBS update service. They said: "We recognise that parents, guardians and members of the wider community continue to have concerns about the fact that an individual convicted of offences involving indecent images of children was previously employed in a number of nursery settings. We understand how distressing this remains for those affected."
Sentencing and Police Response
Parry was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, October 23, after earlier admitting one count of fraud by false representation. He will serve the two-year sentence on top of his existing sentence.
Detective Superintendent Scott Hartley, of Leeds District Police, said: "We welcome the additional conviction today for Parry’s criminal activity in falsifying references to gain employment. This fraud offence was detected as part of our investigation into Parry’s activities following his conviction in March for the possession of indecent images of children.
"We fully recognise the concern this case will have caused parents of children using the nurseries Parry worked at and want to again reassure parents that no images of children in nursery settings were found on devices recovered from Parry."
