A COUNTY pensioner who was jailed after he was caught with thousands of indecent images of children worked as a janitor at a prestigious school at the centre of a historical abuse scandal, it has been revealed.

Thomas Campbell, 72, was jailed two years ago after he admitted possessing nearly 7,000 images depicting children as young as two years old being sexually abused by adults.

Campbell used search terms including “pre-teen angels” and “teen dolls” and downloaded more than 1,000 pictures rated as Category A – the worst end of the spectrum.

The OAP was jailed for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years after he pleaded guilty to possessing the child abuse images at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in February 2022.

READ MORE: Pensioner jailed after being caught with nearly 7,000 indecent images of children

Now it has emerged that Campbell, of Castle Terrace, Port Seton, was employed as a caretaker at the Capital’s exclusive Edinburgh Academy between 2010 and 2012.

A relative of the convicted sex offender contacted the Edinburgh Academy Survivors Group (EASG) to alert them to his past involvement with the school after watching a BBC documentary in December on alleged historic abuse claimed to have taken place at the school.

A spokesperson for the group said: “They pointed out that he would have had access to children while he worked at the school.

“They want nothing more to do with him and were concerned that he may have misused his position and harmed a child.”

The EASG group then contacted the school with the new information and it was confirmed that Campbell had been employed as a janitor between 2010 and 2012.

'Passed to the police'

An Edinburgh Academy spokesperson said: “The allegations we received on January 23, 2024, were limited but we observed best practice and passed these to the police the next day.

“We could not have informed the police, nor anyone else, earlier than that because we weren’t aware of any allegations and none were brought up despite the extensive and high-profile coverage of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI).

“As we have stressed many times previously, we encourage anyone affected by such issues to contact the police and SCAI to ensure their allegations and voices are heard.”

Police seized five electronic devices, including two hard drives hidden in an attic, when they raided Campbell’s former home in Loanhead, Midlothian, in March 2021.

It was found that Campbell had downloaded a total of 6,947 images over an eight-year period depicting the sexual abuse of male and female children aged between two and 16.

The court was told that Campbell’s wife was standing by her husband but his adult children had disowned him and had banned him from having any contact with his grandchildren.

Campbell pleaded guilty to two offences of possessing indecent images of children between July 17, 2013, and March 22 last year.

In December, Police Scotland confirmed that five men aged between 69 and 90 had been arrested and charged in connection with “non-recent abuse incidents at Edinburgh Academy” said to have taken place between 1968 and 1992.