Deputy head's 1,500 spycam photos of pupils undressing were found when he hanged himself after being quizzed over child porn 

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Deputy headteacher Martin Goldberg, 46, hanged himself after being questioned over indecent images of children

A deputy headteacher's haul of 1,500 spycam photographs of young boys undressing was found when he hanged himself after being questioned over indecent images of children.

Martin Goldberg, 46, was found hanged in the garage of his home in Shoeburyness, Essex, the day after he was quizzed by police over child pornography he purchased online, the inquest into his death heard.

Officers later discovered hundreds of pictures of naked children on his computer, which had been secretly taken in changing rooms at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, the hearing at Chelmsford Coroner's Court was told.

Police also believe he had been covertly filming children at the private £10,000-a-year Thorpe Hall School in Southend, where he had worked for more than 20 years.  

The hearing yesterday was told that Goldberg had been spoken to by police on September 9 last year following a tip-off from Canadian police about the online purchase of child pornography.

The following day he had failed to arrive for work, prompting two members of staff to visit him at his £360,000 home - where they discovered his body.

It was another 20 days before it was revealed he was under police investigation after officers found 1,500 indecent images of children, dating back as far as 2000, at his home.

In many other cases, faces are not shown, or are out of focus, making it impossible to know the full tally of his victims. 

'On September 9, he was spoken to as part of an investigation into alleged criminal offences of voyeurism,' coroner's officer Laura Howard told the inquest

'On September 10 he was found in his detached single garage hanging.

'He had not turned up for work, when a colleague got no answer he contacted the police.'

Goldberg had taught at independent Thorpe Hall School in Southend, Essex, for 20 years

Officers discovered hundreds of pictures of naked children on his computer, which had been secretly taken in changing rooms at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre (pictured)

The inquest heard toxicology tests were also carried out on Goldberg's body but 'nothing untoward' was found. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. 

Coroner Eleanor McGann ruled that Goldberg had intended to take his own life and recorded a verdict of suicide.

'This is enough to tell me he certainly may well have thought he had reason to die,' she said.

'I, therefore, am satisfied that he intended to die. Martin Goldberg took his own life.'

Police investigating Goldberg's action say they believe he was acting alone and that there is no evidence to suggest his offending involved physical abuse.

The inquest heard toxicology tests were also carried out on Goldberg's body but 'nothing untoward' was found. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death

Both the NSPCC and abuse charity Enough Abuse have said Thorpe Hall School was not to blame for failing to suspect Goldberg of any wrongdoing

Both the NSPCC and abuse charity Enough Abuse have said Thorpe Hall School was not to blame for failing to suspect Goldberg of any wrongdoing and has cleared the school of any safety breaches.

Goldberg's boss, headteacher Andrew Hampton, said at the time details of the investigation were revealed that the privately-run school feels 'angry and betrayed' by Goldberg's secret voyeuristic double life.  

The case highlighted concerns over how long it took British police forces to act on intelligence passed to them about hundreds of suspected paedophiles by Canadian authorities as part of an international investigation dubbed Operation Spade.

Goldbery was among 2,345 individuals suspected of having accessed child pornography whose names were handed to the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) following a major inquiry in Canada.

Officers found 1,500 indecent images of children, dating back as far as 2000, on Goldberg's computer - some which had been secretly taken at the leisure centre (pictured)

Goldberg's body was found in the garage of his £360,000 home (pictured) by two of his colleagues

CEOP, which was later taken in to the National Crime Agency (NCA), received intelligence packages on 35 people, including Goldberg, from Canadian Police in July 2012. 

But CEOP failed to act on the information from Toronto Police – and it was only in November 2013 that Essex Police were told that Goldberg had been buying videos of naked boys from a vendor based in Canada. 

Essex Police then delayed their investigation into Goldberg for a further nine months, because they did not check his occupation, and did not realise he was a teacher. 

Officers did not warn the school where the IT expert regularly took children away on official trips.  

The force has apologised to parents for the delay, while Keith Bristow, director general of the NCA, has also apologised in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating how staff at CEOP handled the intelligence provided by Canadian police.

The investigation will look at how CEOP received the intelligence from Canadian police and how it was dealt with. It will also consider why the referral to the IPCC took until September 2014 rather than at the time delays were identified.

The IPCC is separately investigating the actions of three police forces, Essex, North Yorkshire and North Wales in how they acted upon Project Spade intelligence sent to them by the NCA.

OPERATION SPADE: CANADIAN PROBE THAT IDENTIFIED HUNDREDS OF SUSPECTED PAEDOPHILES

Essex Police was alerted to concerns over Martin Goldberg as part of Operation Spade - a Canadian police operation which identified hundreds of suspected paedophiles.

A total of 35 files were passed to the UK force as part of this operation. All information of criminal offences has now been acted on with two people being charged and 18 people still under investigation.

MailOnline reported last November that hundreds of British suspected paedophiles had still not been arrested despite being identified by Canadian police 18 months earlier.

Essex Police was alerted to concerns over Martin Goldberg as part of Operation Spade - a Canadian police operation which identified hundreds of suspected paedophiles

Canadian detectives said that in July 2012 they had sent police ‘hundreds of names’ of people who viewed ‘horrific’ child abuse videos distributed from Toronto by a crime ring.

Globally, as of last November, 348 arrests had been made and 386 children rescued. Last year the Daily Mail revealed only one in 15 people caught viewing such images is arrested.

Operation Spade started in 2010 and has worked with Interpol in more than 50 countries. 

More than 350,000 images and 9,000 videos of child sexual abuse have been found.

One case is known to be that of children's doctor Myles Bradbury, who was jailed for 22 years in December after he admitted a string of sexual offences against cancer sufferers in his care aged as young as 11.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating how staff at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), which is now part of the National Crime Agency (NCA), handled the intelligence provided by Canadian police.

The investigation will look at how CEOP received the intelligence from Canadian police and how it was dealt with. It will also consider why the referral to the IPCC took until September 2014 rather than at the time delays were identified.

IPCC Commissioner Carl Gumsley said last month: 'The public are rightly concerned about the safety of the most vulnerable members of society and issues concerning the protection of children.

'Independent IPCC investigators will be examining closely the actions taken by CEOP and NCA officers and staff over a sixteen month period to determine if they acted appropriately and promptly as well as looking at any possible organisational failings.'

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