BBC reported that Donal Donnelly, a former freelance music teacher in Bradford, was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for 18 months, after breaching a sexual harm prevention order. The 61-year-old, who was already banned from teaching for life, received the sentence at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday alongside a further five-year harm prevention order.
Donnelly had previously received a suspended eight-month sentence in December 2023 after admitting to possessing more than 2,000 indecent images of children. A routine visit in April 2025 revealed he was using private browsing on his phone and deleting internet history. While Donnelly told police he deleted the history due to embarrassment over viewing adult pornography, Recorder Ayesha Smart stated he had deliberately breached a court order intended to protect the public, particularly children, and allow authorities to monitor his internet use.
The judge noted that while the appropriate sentence was six months in prison, current legislation requires sentences under 12 months to be suspended unless exceptional circumstances exist. In addition to the suspended term, Donnelly was ordered to comply with 30 days of rehabilitation. His lifetime teaching ban was imposed following a Teaching Regulation Agency hearing in 2025.
For more information, visit bbc.co.uk.