IT teacher admits child porn charges

The head of IT at a private school in Birmingham has been given a three-year community rehabilitation order after he admitted downloading child pornography from the internet.

Robert Inches, who works at the Blue Coat School, was also a special constable with West Midlands Police.

The pornography found on his computer included both still photographs and moving images of adults taking part in sex acts with children.

Inches, of Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, admitted 13 charges of possessing indecent images of a child.

Sex register

The 53-year-old was suspended from his job at the Blue Coat School when the allegations came to light in July this year.

He has since resigned.

Inches, who also helped run the scout group at the school, was arrested after police investigating child pornography on the internet traced him through his credit card.

Inches was ordered to have no contact with children and placed on a sex offenders' register for seven years. His computer is to be destroyed.

'Good character'

Judge Marten Coates said: "The images were quite disgusting.

"There was no danger of others seeing the images and you did not distribute them for commercial gain.

"You are without previous convictions and are of good character and for these reasons your case does not pass the custody threshold."

Jonathan Gosling, defending, said that Inches had been an outstanding teacher throughout his career.

"Teaching was his life and now it is his loss."

He said the case was "tragic" for the children subjected to the acts shown in the material.