Child porn clergyman avoids jail

A bishop's advisor who said he accidentally downloaded more than 100 child porn images while addicted to adult porn has avoided a jail sentence.

The Rev Richard Thomas, 56, of Eastern Drive, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, downloaded 119 images of children.

At Oxford Crown Court on Monday, the former Diocese of Oxford's director of communications was given a three-year community punishment order.

Thomas pleaded guilty after saying he downloaded the material inadvertently.

He is an ideal candidate for rehabilitation Peter Coombe, defending

Thomas originally denied 17 charges of making indecent photos and three of possessing them.

He later changed his plea to guilty believing it was the "responsible" thing to do.

Most of the images were found on a hard drive discarded by Thomas before police searched his home, the court heard.

But the police were able to retrieve the deleted images.

Peter Coombe, defending, said Thomas had been battling with his addiction aware of how wrong it was and had erased the files on the computer before throwing it out with the rubbish.

Character references

He added that Thomas began looking at adult pornography while under "considerable stress" in his job, which required him to work away from his family.

He was also suffering financial difficulties and dealing with the illness of his eldest son, who had been diagnosed with ME.

"He is an ideal candidate for rehabilitation. He has been wracked with shame and remorse," said Mr Coombe. Earlier the court heard character references from figures such as the Bishop of Grimsby and former Bishop of Oxford Richard Harris speaking of Thomas in glowing terms.

Sentencing him, Judge Julian Hall said the number of images found in Thomas' possession was small compared to many other cases.

Thomas was sentenced on 12 charges of making and possessing the images. The remainder were ordered to lay on file.

He was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and attend the Thames Valley Sex Offender Project.