Middlesbrough ex-teacher admits child abuse image possession

A date for Richard Swinnerton's sentencing is yet to be decided

A former primary school deputy head teacher has admitted possessing indecent images of children including videos of rape.

Richard Swinnerton, 30, admitted three charges when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Swinnerton previously resigned his post at St Clare's Catholic Primary School in Middlesbrough. His offending was unrelated to his work there.

He was granted conditional bail to be sentenced at Teesside Crown Court.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Swinnerton had been viewing indecent images for two years before his arrest at his home on 15 May.

A spokeswoman said officers found no evidence to suggest that any of the images were made at the school and there is no allegation of physical abuse.

Swinnerton, of Coulby Newham in Middlesbrough, admitted possessing pictures and videos of the most serious kind, category A, as well as category B and C images.

The NCA said he used the dark web to access the images and had 87 videos in the most serious category on a laptop computer.

The school's head teacher Elizabeth Eddies previously said the case was "deeply upsetting news for everybody involved with St Clare's".

A date for his sentencing is yet to be set.