The end of innocence

摘要

In 2003, Paul Reeve was found to have done something illegal. Although he was not convicted of any crime, he accepted a caution from the police. He was banned from certain jobs. Then a government department reviewed Mr Reeve's case and lifted the ban. He took a job in Norwich, but quickly resigned after the police objected. It may not sound like the sort of scandal that would keep the media busy for a week and threaten the career of a government minister. But since Mr Reeve's crime involved child pornography, and his job was teaching physical education in a school, the level of panic—and the potential fallout-is almost without limit. Memories of an earlier enormity are one reason for the hysteria. In 2002, two Cambridgeshire girls were murdered by Ian Huntley, a school caretaker. The crime was egregious enough, but it turned out that Mr Huntley had previously been investigated for rape, underage sex, indecent assault and burglary. A public inquiry revealed police incompetence and sloppy record-keeping. Such a person, it was promised, would never again be allowed to work in a school.