A HOLLY Hall man who was the Information Technology manager at a Sedgley school has been spared a prison sentence after he was caught with over 2,000 indecent photographs of children.

Judge Michael Dudley told 47-year-old Kevin Lowe, of Hilderic Crescent, it was an extremely serious case because the images involved the suffering and abuse of youngsters.

But he ruled he was able to take a lenient course because the indecent images were mainly at the bottom end of the scale.

Speaking at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the judge said the best way to protect the public was to pass a sentence that would provide Lowe with the support and guidance he clearly needed.

Lowe admitted 20 charges of making indecent images of children and he was given a three-year community order.

He was further placed under supervision for three years as well as being told to register as a sex offender for five years and ordered to pay £1,485 costs.

Lowe, who was employed at High Arcal school, before being suspended, was also barred from ever working with children and made the subject of a 10 year sexual offenders protection order.

Ian Ball prosecuting said police officers with a search warrant went to the home of Lowe where they found four computers containing a total of 2,011 indecent images of children The officers also checked his computers at the school but found no offensive material and, when questioned Lowe told them he had no specific interest in child pornography.

He maintained he had never searched the internet looking for the images and said he found it disturbing that they could have been accessed by children.

It was accepted all the images came from the internet and there was no direct evidence he had paid for any of the images, Mr Ball told the court.

He said Lowe - described as a "loner" - had stressed he got no sexual gratification from looking at the indecent photographs, and also revealed he had not enjoyed looking at them and that it was not a hobby Simon Hands defending told the court that Lowe's job at the school had not brought him into direct contact with pupils and said 97 per cent of the images were at level one - the lowest in terms of seriousness.