A FORMER Farnham teacher has escaped jail after he was caught with more than a thousand indecent pictures of children and confessed making prostitutes wear school uniforms for sex, a crown court has heard.

Robert Browne, 45, until recently an RE teacher at All Hallows Catholic School in Farnham, admitted possessing 1,468 illegal photographers of children, as well as 80 ‘extreme’ porn images showing people having sex with animals.

It comes after Browne resigned from St Anselm’s all-boys school in the Wirral “for personal reasons” last November, just months after he also departed All Hallows in early 2016 having worked at the Farnham school for a number of years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he was caught after police in Ireland discovered a USB stick Browne had left in a hostel, containing disturbing photos. Merseyside Police subsequently raided his home in Clifton Road, Tranmere, on October 7 last year and seized two laptops, along with children’s clothing including school uniforms.

Browne admitted downloading 38 Category A - the most serious category - plus 44 Category B and 1,386 Category C indecent images.

Simon Duncan, prosecuting, said according to the Liverpool Echo: “None of them involved particularly young children, perhaps in keeping with what the defendant said about his particular interests.

“It was consistent with his interest in particularly school girls in uniform. He said he was interested in females aged eight to 17.

“As regards the school uniform and clothing recovered from his arrest, he said that he paid prostitutes to dress up in certain articles of clothing. This was so he could take part in sexual activities, thus it appears, acting out his fantasies.

“In relation to bestiality images, he explained he needed extreme material, as he had become somewhat desensitised.”

The court heard police were unaware of any complaints regarding inappropriate behaviour by Browne towards pupils at his past schools, and Browne had no previous convictions.

David Woods, defending, added: “Browne accepts wholeheartedly that what he has done is wrong. He is ashamed of his behaviour and he is disgusted in himself.

“He was not a teacher for the purpose of facilitating any interests, nor did he do anything that would take his perverted and deviant interests any further.

“He of course will no longer be able to teach any children, although he believed he was a good teacher.”

The defence lawyer added Browne is “extremely remorseful” and had since quit drinking and completed a 10-week sex offenders programme at his own expense as well as paying to see a psychologist.

Judge Anil Murray said Browne, who also printed non-indecent photos of schoolgirls, confessed to being ‘addicted’.

“While there are no reports of you touching a child, one of the serious aspects of this case is when this case is reported, all of the parents of all of the children you have taught will be worrying whether you have done things to their children,” said Judge Murray.

“You said you’re ashamed of your behaviour and so you should be. This was disgraceful and worrying behaviour. You will never teach again.”

The judge added Browne’s behaviour since his arrest suggested it was “worth giving you a chance to mend your ways” and gave him a 12-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, plus a 60-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Browne was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

Judge Murray concluded with a stark warning for the defendant, telling him he had “come within an inch” of going to prison, adding “the chances are if I see you again you will be leaving this court through a different door”.

Parents of Browne’s former pupils at All Hallows School reacted with “shock” at the news of the RE teacher’s conviction this week.

One parent told The Herald that Browne had taught at All Hallows for “three or four years” before he “disappeared fairly swiftly” early last year without any explanation given to pupils or parents.

Discussing his time at the Farnham school, the parent said: “I couldn’t believe it when I heard about his conviction because he was almost like a figure of fun. And supposedly an RE teacher as well, in a Catholic school!

“There was absolutely nothing at all to implicate or to suggest any paedophilia or anything like that, but he certainly had some rather strange teaching methods.

“He seemed to have a lot of trouble controlling the classes and was verbally very aggressive. I would say he wasn’t able to control the kids, and they played up on it, and he just tended to lose it a bit and shout a lot.

“He was a bit like the mad school teacher off Pink Floyd’s The Wall, that was the kind of impression he gave to me. The pupils all found him completely nuts. He just wasn’t equipped for teaching.

“I’d be quite interested to know now in the light of what’s happened why he left, because no-one’s ever told us, you never hear anything.”

Another former student at All Hallows, a girl, noted how “softly spoken” and “over friendly” Browne was, adding his female pupils often felt he was “overly affectionate and it got uncomfortable at times”.

All Hallows is currently closed for the summer holidays and had not replied to The Herald’s request for a comment as the paper went to press.

However, the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth said in a statement on its behalf: “While the diocese shares the opinion of the judge that parents of any children taught by Browne are bound to be anxious when they hear of this case, it is reassuring that ‘the police were unaware of any complaints regarding inappropriate behaviour by Browne towards pupils at his past schools’.”