A TEACHER was spared jail after he admitted finding indecent images of children using the Tumblr website.

Christopher Bailey, of Hampden Road, Wantage, was banned from using the blogging site after he found nude photos of children by making “naturist” searches.

The 37-year-old father of two – who taught at Bradon Forest School, in Purton, near Swindon – told police he accidentally brought up the images among many others and never viewed them.

But this was dismissed yesterday by a judge in Oxford Crown Court who said he found it “hard to believe”.

Prosecutor Nigel Ogborne said 95 indecent images were found on Bailey’s PC, which was searched by the police after they received a complaint from his school.

The barrister said this was related to a separate matter concerning a “particular toilet” that was never proceeded with.

He applied for a sexual offences prevention order banning Bailey from using Tumblr or any device that can access the internet without saving a record of sites visited.

Judge Peter Ross said that one thing in the defendant’s favour was that “none of the usual search terms” associated with indecent images had been entered into his computer.

Jenny McVeigh, defending, said: “Mr Bailey will no longer be in a position to take up a position as a teacher in the future. He doesn’t accept ever being aware of consciously viewing these images as they were in a great deal of others that were coming through.”

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Judge Ross said he would make the requested order for six years and follow the recommendation made by the Probation Service for a community order with supervision and an internet sex offenders’ programme.

He told Bailey: “You are a secondary school teacher, and you know well the risks of using Tumblr.

“You know it is a site that is used to gain access to pornographic material.

“If there is any breach of the requirements I have made, or any further offending, then you will come back before me and I will send you to prison.”

Bailey also has to pay a £60 victims’ surcharge.

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