A COLLEGE lecturer who downloaded hundreds of pornographic images and videos of young children has avoided being sent to jail.

Darren Tattersall, who taught students with profound learning disabilities, was handed a six-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, after admitting to police he had a fetish for schoolgirls.

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Det Sgt Mark Whelan, from the engage team at Lancashire Police, said after the court hearing that it was important to catch sex offenders before their offending escalated.

Tattersall, 33, of Warwick Drive, Earby, who pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children while living in Shepherd Street, Darwen, had been working at Bury College, but was suspended as soon as the allegations came to light.

Tattersall admitted he had an addiction to pornography, visiting explicit websites two or three times a week. He watched around 50 indecent videos featuring Japanese schoolgirls and had saved up to 300 images.

The teacher, who has an eight-month-old baby, was also told he must attend an internet sexual offenders’ treatment programme.

He was also made the subject of a sexual offenders’ prevention order for seven years when he appeared before Preston Crown Court yesterday.

Det Sgt Whelan said: “He told us in interview he had a fetish for schoolgirls.

“If that is his fetish and he worked in a college, then that is not conducive to safeguarding the young adults he was exposed to.He was somebody who needed to be caught.

“We are not suggesting there has been any contact offences in this case. But these kind of offences are often the first step people take prior to doing something more serious.

“Therefore it is always a good use of police time to bring these people to justice.”

Bury College principal Charlie Deane said: “We have been reliably informed by the police that the offence is not connected to college activities.

“We immediately suspended the individual and carried out our own thorough internal investigation which confirmed this.

“The safeguarding of our learners is of paramount importance to us and we are confident that our policies and procedures are highly effective in safeguarding our students.”

The seven-year sexual offenders’ prevention order prevents Tattersall working with children.