A TOTAL of 17 indecent images of children had been deleted from the mobile phone of a Bangor headteacher charged with 20 sexual offences on the day he was arrested, a court heard.

Neil Foden, 66, of Gwynant, Old Colwyn, denies all charges put to him, which date from 2019 to 2023 and include five alleged victims.

At Mold Crown Court this morning (May 7), Richard Hughes, a digital forensics investigator with North Wales Police, gave evidence as the prosecution’s case concluded.

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Mr Hughes said that there was evidence that 16 sexualised images found in the “trash” section of a folder on the phone which was protected by a passcode had been deleted roughly an hour before Foden’s arrest on September 6, 2023.

A 17th deleted image was sent to the device’s default storage location’s “trash” section, meanwhile.

That they had not then been deleted from their respective “trash” folders enabled Mr Hughes to recover the images when analysing the seized phone.

Foden was arrested at 1.50pm on September 6 after the allegations had been reported to the school and Gwynedd Council, and has been remanded in custody since then.

The images in question began to be deleted from shortly after 12.45pm that day, Mr Hughes said.

Foden, whose trial began at Mold Crown Court on April 22, is accused of the following:

  • 13 counts of sexual activity with a child.
  • Two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.
  • Causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
  • Possessing indecent images of a child.
  • Sexual assault of a child.
  • Sexual communication with a child.
  • Attempting to arrange the commission of a child sexual offence.

He is set to give evidence later today.