A former deputy head teacher has been sacked from the profession after seeing videos of child sexual abuse.
Disgraced Richard Swinnerton, 33, secretly watched the sickening abuse of minors on the internet for two years.
Swinnerton, from Middlesborough, admitted his wrongdoing and told investigators that in 2020 he saw adults raping children on the footage.
Officers found 87 Category A videos on his laptop – the most serious kind.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of illegal images of children and received a 10-month suspended prison sentence and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
The pedophile, who worked at St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, was told by a panel this week that he will never be able to return to the teaching profession
The disciplinary tribunal of the Education Supervision Service ruled and called his behavior and conviction ‘very serious’ given the nature of the facts.
Officers found no evidence that the footage was taken at the school and there are no allegations of physical abuse.
Decision maker Sarah Buxcey said: ‘The advice indicates that there are instances of certain conduct where the public interest is likely to outweigh and will weigh not to offer a review period.
“These cases include any activity involving viewing, taking, making, possessing, distributing or publishing an indecent photo or image or indecent pseudo-photo or image of a child, including one-time incidents.
“The panel found that Mr. Swinnerton was convicted of possession of indecent images of children, which is related to conduct for which the panel should not recommend a review period.”
Swinnerton first appeared before Teeside Magistrates’ Court in September 2020 and admitted three counts of possession of illegal images of children relating to Category A (the most serious), Category B and Category C.
After the case, the National Crime Agency said he used TOR (The Onion Router) software to make himself anonymous on the dark web.
NCA operations manager Julie Booker said: ‘Swinnerton had gone to great lengths to use TOR to commit his crimes and thought he was anonymous on the dark web.
“Offenders who see child sexual abuse contribute to increasing numbers of children being abused, condemning them to years of extreme trauma and suffering.
Every child in an abuse image is victimized again when the photo is viewed or shared.
“Protecting children from sexual abuse and stopping pedophiles is a top priority for the NCA.”
After the hearing, a spokesperson for St Clare’s school said: ‘This has been an upsetting matter for parents, carers, staff and the wider St Clare’s community.
“We are grateful for the support we have received from them and we continue to assure them that the well-being and safety of St. Clare’s children remains our priority at all times.
“It is also important to reiterate that this former employee’s violations were not related to his employment with the school.”
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