Roger Took

Roger Took is an art historian and museum curator who lived in London and Ireland. Throughout his career he ran several museums in England, is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, and a former director of the Barbican Art Gallery. He attended Haileybury College, Sandhurst and the Courtauld Institute. In 1985, Took founded Artangel, an institution within the field of contemporary art. In December 2003, Running with Reindeer: Encounters in Russian Lapland, Roger Took's detailed description of life on Russia's Lapland and Kola Peninsula, was published in hardback.. This book was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. Took was most recently acclaimed as an expert on the mediaeval Russian fur trade.

In his personal life, Took had deceived his wife Pat Cleary whom he had married in 1983. The extended family from Clearly's first marriage, whom he resided with in Russia, consisted of a stepson, two stepdaughters and eight step-grandchildren. In February 2007, in their 25th year of marriage, Roger Took joined his family for a trip. On their way home, one of his stepdaughters, Ann, found a $100 bill in her daughter's luggage. Ann questioned her daughter about where she got it, and was told that Took gave it to her so that he could photograph her. She eventually confessed that she had been sexually abused by Took "for as long as she could remember". Ann alerted the police and a six week investigation was launched, during which Took was unaware that his family knew what had been happening.

Took was arrested at Luton airport in April 2007, following the police investigation during which it was discovered that he had been using chat rooms to boast about a child rape and murder. Took denied this, saying it was merely a fantasy. Police also recovered 260 images from Took's laptop. 102 of them were graded as "level 5s", which means they contain images of children being penetrated, tortured, or both. When police raided Took’s home, they found a locked case containing a large bundle of photographs of naked young Russian women, believed to be prostitutes, one having sex with Took, and clippings of children’s hair.

Took was given an indeterminate sentence by Judge Henry Blacksell QC who believed he "posed a danger to all children." He eventually plead guilty to a total of 17 counts, including sexual assault on a child under 13, inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and making and possessing indecent images of children. Judge Blacksell, who had reviewed thousands of pages of evidence, was visibly shocked when he told the court, It is unrestrained filth, depravity of the worst kind. He was sentenced to nine years and will be eligible for parole after just four-and-a-half. Additionally, he is banned from working with children under the age of 18 for the rest of his life. Roger Took is now appealing his sentence.

Took's charm, social status, academic reputation and credentials served to "cushion him from condemnation". His case received little publicity, and he enjoyed continued support from former colleagues. During sentencing, Judge Blacksell, who expressed that he has no doubt that Took suffers from an illness, took into consideration 23 letters of support and three character witnesses who spoke at the hearing on behalf of five people. He was described as a "gentle, kind, caring man who has enriched the lives of many over many years". Those who spoke were his older half-brother, John Michael Took; the Reverend Adrian Gabb-Jones; and Matteos Los, a schoolfriend from a Greek shipping family.

External links

• BBC Radio 4 story
• Guardian story