Royal Holloway professor convicted of child sex offences had remained on staff after arrest

Barry Langford, a 61-year-old film studies professor at Royal Holloway University of London, was arrested in October 2023 and later charged with arranging a child sex offence, creating an indecent image of a child and possessing extreme pornography. He pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced by Judge Angela Rafferty KC to a two-year prison term suspended for three years. Although he claimed to have resigned in June, the university was not informed of the case and his staff profile remained on the website as the new term began.

The university only became aware of his conviction after a newspaper contacted it, prompting a statement that he is no longer employed and that support services are available. Police investigators highlighted the difficulty of detecting such hidden behaviour and noted that the university was not required to be notified because Langford did not work directly with children.