Former Moriah teacher jailed for child abuse image offences
Former Jewish day school teacher Ezra Davies jailed for creating thousands of indecent images, including doctored photos of pupils
A former Moriah Jewish Day School teacher has been jailed for creating thousands of indecent images of children – including doctored pictures using the faces of his former pupils.
Ezra Davies, 53, was sentenced to 29 months in prison at Willesden Magistrates’ Court sitting as a Crown Court, on Wednesday after admitting three charges of making indecent images of children.
The court heard Davies, who taught at a number of schools, including Moriah, created collage-style pictures by pasting the faces of boys – some he had taught – onto existing sexual images of children. In some cases, he altered the pictures to add sexual imagery or disturbing themes such as circumcision, corporal punishment, religious symbols, and sadistic abuse.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) began investigating in 2021 after tracing an online account linked to child abuse material back to Davies. He was arrested that September, and officers seized multiple devices from addresses in London and the north west.
In total, they found over 7,000 indecent images across legal categories A, B, and C – with nearly 6,900 of them digitally altered by Davies. Category A, the most serious, included 133 images, of which 31 were of former pupils.
One victim, now in his twenties, said the offences had left him feeling “betrayed, disgusted, and sick to my stomach,” adding that happy memories of primary school had been “tainted” forever.
Davies’ lawyers said he had autism and ADHD, a history of trauma, and had sought help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which works with sex offenders. They argued for a suspended sentence, but Judge Alistair Wright said the seriousness, scale, and breach of trust meant only immediate custody was appropriate.
Davies will serve half his sentence before being released on license. He was also given a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, placed on the sex offenders register for ten years, and had his devices ordered to be destroyed.
The judge warned that breaching the order or the registration could result in up to five years in prison.
No victims are identified. Schools attended by victims are not named. This report is confined to matters stated in open court.
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