Middlesbrough ex-deputy head banned over indecent images

Richard Swinnerton used the dark web to access the images

A former deputy head teacher given a suspended prison sentence for possessing indecent images of children has been banned from teaching.

Richard Swinnerton, 33, taught at St Clare's Catholic Primary School in Middlesbrough but none of the charges related to his time there.

He pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court in 2020 and was handed 10 months in jail, suspended for two years.

Swinnerton will not be able to apply to have his eligibility to teach restored.

The Teaching Regulation Agency panel described his behaviour and conviction as "extremely serious".

Their report said: "The aggravating features are the age and vulnerability of the children, that there was discernible pain and distress and that they were moving images."

The panel noted Swinnerton had been "frank and forthcoming when first approached by the police" and had admitted guilt.

But public confidence in the teaching profession "would be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Swinnerton were not treated with the utmost seriousness", they said.

The panel met in late-February and their report has now been published.

The National Crime Agency said Swinnerton, who was arrested at his home in May 2020, used the dark web to access the images and had 87 videos in the most serious category on a laptop.

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