A former employee of a secondary school has pleaded guilty to possession of more than 45,000 sordid child sex photos.

Kevin Crump, 53, was an IT technician at Loreto College for a number of years before he was arrested last February for possession of child pornography.

His collection ran to a total of 45,896 images downloaded from the internet, but Crump has currently escaped prison with a suspended sentence of 16 months and prosecution costs of £545.

He pleaded guilty to six offences of making indecent photos of children, three of possessing indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and one offence of possessing prohibited images of children at Luton Crown Court last week.

Some of the disturbing photos discovered were of extremely young children being abused by adults while they were restrained.

Crump made a full admission to the police after they arrived at his home in Houghton Regis, he told them: “Everything you said is true, it looks like I am going to prison for a long time.”

He told them that he had hidden the material from his wife, who also worked at the school and who is sticking by him, and would look at it when she wasn’t home.

Judge Philip Bartle, hearing the case, said that some of the children pictured were as young as one year old.

Charlotte O’Connor, defending, said Crump had served 22 years in the armed services and had served with the UN and NATO in war torn regions around the world.

She added that he had taken steps to address his behaviour and had attended a counselling course.

Miss O’Connor said: “He tells me that in a way the police arriving on his doorstep is one of the best things that happened because he has been able to break the cycle.”

Judge Bartle said that based on everything he had heard, he could pass a suspended sentence.

Crump will now be under the supervision of the probation service for two years, attend a sex offenders programme, and be the subject of a sexual offences prevention order for the rest of his life.

Crump lost his job following his arrest. Maire Lynch, head teacher at Loreto College, said: “We were obviously deeply shocked by the arrest of Kevin Crump last year and we are pleased that he has now been convicted.

“Immediately following his arrest, the college instigated a full investigation and we can confirm that none of his offences relate to the college.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is absolutely paramount and we would like to reassure parents that, at no time, were students put at risk.”

Crump and his wife now live in South Yorkshire caring for his elderly parents.