A paedophile teacher caught with child sex abuse videos has been spared prison after telling the judge he had sought counselling to change his ways.

Jeremy Gibbs, 59, of Fleet Road in Benfleet, was caught with hundreds of indecent images of children as young as four.

Most of his illegal collection depicted children aged 10 and under, Basildon Crown Court heard.

He had downloaded them with an internet browser called The Onion Router – or Tor – which uses encryption originally developed by the US Navy to keep its users anonymous on the internet.

But, said prosecutor Philippa Page, he was caught by the security services last year.

“Essex Police were informed by the National Crime Agency on the 25th of June 2023 that an account linked to this defendant was being used to access indecent images of children from the internet,” she said.

“He was known to work in education, so there was increased concern about this.”

The school where Gibbs worked was not named in court.

He was arrested at his home on September 28, 2023, and 15 electronic devices were seized.

A black Dell laptop contained 440 illegal child sex abuse photos and videos.

They included 25 photos and 45 videos classed as Category A – the most serious category.

Gibbs also had 66 images and 45 videos at Category B, which show non-penetrative sexual abuse, and 105 images and 154 videos at Category C, which do not show sexual activity but may, for example, show nude children in sexual poses.

“It’s right to say that most of the children seem to be below the age of 10 or around the age of 10,” said Mrs Page.

“There are some that seem to be a bit older, maybe 13 to 15.”

Gibbs pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on August 20.

As his crimes carried a potential sentence of up to three years in prison, he was sent to Basildon Crown Court to be sentenced on Monday, November 11.

There, Mrs Page told Judge Ian Graham that when interviewed at Southend Police Station, Gibbs “made full admissions and said he felt ashamed”.

He had two past convictions from the late 1990s. One, for obtaining property by deception, had resulted in a fine. The other, for shoplifting, had resulted in a caution.

Defence barrister Matthew Graham (no relation to the judge) said Gibbs was supported in court by his wife.

The couple, he said, “had their life entirely turned upside-down by the arrival of the police. Everything has changed. It has been a torturous wait.”

But, he said, his client had used the time between his arrest and court appearances to seek help for his compulsion to view child abuse.

“He – and not all do this – chose to put his hands up and say, ‘I’ve got a problem, I need help, I’m online, I’m in the wrong places, I’m doing wrong to all concerned’,” said Mr Graham.

“He has reached out for professional support.”

Gibbs sought help from an organisation called Stop It Now, which helps people “worried about their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour” in relation to child abuse, said the lawyer.

He was also undergoing individual professional therapy. His therapist provided a letter to Judge Graham about “his commitment to therapeutic change”.

“He is not just saying, ‘I’ve stopped, I won’t do it again’, but going considerably beyond that, to understand the drivers and motivators,” Mr Graham continued.

“I seek not on his behalf to in any way minimise the serious of that which he has done,” he added, saying his client felt “guilt and shame” at his actions.

But he asked the judge to impose a sentence to “match the aims of rehabilitation and punishment”.

Judge Graham sentenced Gibbs to six months for the Category A images, three months for the Category B images and one month for the Category C, all to run concurrently.

But he suspended the six-month sentence for 18 months and ordered Gibbs to complete 40 days of rehabilitation and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).