Middlesbrough ex-teacher sentenced for indecent images

Richard Swinnerton used the dark web to access the images

A former deputy head teacher at a school in Middlesbrough has been handed a suspended prison sentence for possessing indecent images of children.

Richard Swinnerton admitted three charges at a previous hearing at Teesside Crown Court.

He had resigned his post at St Clare's Catholic Primary School and none of the charges related to his time there.

The 31-year-old, from Coulby Newham, has been sentenced to 10 months, suspended for two years.

The court was told Swinnerton had suffered a "tragic fall from grace" and his reputation as a teacher was now in tatters.

He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

The National Crime Agency said Swinnerton, who was arrested at his home in May, used the dark web to access the images and had 87 videos in the most serious category on a laptop computer.