Dudley child porn teacher hopes taxpayers will fund his defence (From Dudley News)

Dudley child porn teacher hopes taxpayers will fund his defence

10:30am Monday 20th August 2012 in Local

A DUDLEY teacher who was sacked after being caught in possession of nearly 100,000 sickening pornographic images of children is still hoping to be granted legal aid for his forthcoming court case.

Matthew Bullas who taught at Dudley's Castle High School has made a number of applications for financial help to assist his defence but they have so far been rejected.

The 32-year-old appealed against the last refusal on the grounds of great hardship, but Miss Ruth Edwards defending, said aid was necessary because a psychological report was needed.

She told Wolverhampton Crown Court the report would cost £1,800 and neither Bullas or his family had the funding available to meet the bill.

Miss Edwards said they would be getting the results of the final appeal sometime in the next seven days adding: "If it is not granted we will have to decide what to do."

Bullas, who was a PE teacher, downloaded the indecent images of children from the internet and they were found after police seized his computer equipment and he was immediately suspended from the St James’s Road school.

He pleaded guilty to nine charges of possessing indecent images and video images when he appeared before Dudley Magistrates Court in May.

However sentence will not be passed until a final decision has been made on his application for legal aid.

The court had been told Bullas had 98,266 indecent images of children at level one, 269 at level two, 67 at level 3 and 195 at level four.

He also had 76 indecent moving images at level one, five at level two, five at level three, five at level four and a further five at level five - the worst possible category.

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones told Bullas of Hamilton Close, Wordsley, who is currently on bail, he would adjourn the case until August 31.