A 'sex addict' teacher who asked a 13-year-old girl to send a topless photo and was caught with child pornography on his computer has been spared jail.
James Luff, 32, was head of biology at Lutterworth College, in Leicestershire, when he tried to obtain 'sexy' pictures from a girl he met on the internet.
That conversation was discovered when police examined his computer following his arrest last year for possessing child porn .
None of the children involved in the online chats or in the images were pupils at the college, either past or present, the Leicester Mercury reported.
Luff, from Mountsorrel, was given a 12-month jail sentence , suspended for two years, and ordered to undergo a sex offender rehabilitation programme.
He admitted downloading 79 indecent images of children in category A, the most serious range, 59 in category B and 417 in category C, between September 2007 and June 2014.
Luff, who lost his career and now works in a supermarket, also pleaded guilty to possessing 128 extreme pornographic images, and attempting to incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, between March and May 2014.
Victoria Rose, prosecuting a search warrant was conducted at the defendant's home on April 22, 2015, and he told officers he had an old computer in the attic which was seized and examined.
Miss Rose said that as well as illegal images downloaded from the internet, there was evidence of Skype and social media activity with exchanges between the defendant and schoolchildren.
There were conversations about school exams and homework – but the conversation went further with one 13-year-old.
They exchanged pictures of themselves clothed, before the defendant inquired: "Have you ever taken sexy pictures of yourself?"
He asked for more revealing pictures in her 'underwear, bikini and topless'.
But none were sent and the child concerned was never located or identified.
Sentencing Luff at Leicester Crown Court Judge Nicholas Dean QC said there was no suggestion the defendant engaged in sexual activity with children, and he has voluntarily sought help for his 'addiction' following his arrest.
The judge added: "You've lost your career. That is of itself a significant punishment.
"And, no doubt, for the rest of your adult life, you'll be haunted by these convictions.
I'm confident you won't offend again."
Lisa Hancox, mitigating, said Luff had contacted the Lucy Faithful Foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse, which works with adult male and female sexual abusers, and went on its Stop It course.
She added: "He contacted Sex Addicts Anonymous and he's now a sponsor helping others.
"He's made efforts to rectify his own behaviour.
"His family have stood by him and his parents attend court."
Luff was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, and his address will be on a sex offenders' register, both for 10 years.
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