OO’s indecent image conviction

An optometrist convicted of making indecent photographs of children and possession of extreme pornographic images involving animals has been erased from General Optical Council (GOC) registers.

Yorkshire-based Alister Blockley was arrested in the autumn of 2017 after police raided his house following a tip off. Computer hardware seized from Blockley’s home contained 422 indecent videos or images of children – over 200 of which were of the most serious, category A, involving penetrative sexual activity. In addition, 823 extreme pornographic images of animals were found.

Blockley, who attended the fitness to practise hearing, was convicted at York Crown Court in May 2019 and handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.