A TEACHER and former cathedral musical director has received a suspended prison sentence after he admitted child porn offences.

Richard William Chivers, 60, of Broughton Hall Road in Broughton, was arrested at his home last September when he was employed as the director of music at Wrexham Cathedral.

He also worked part-time through an agency as a teacher at a Chester primary school.

Police found a total of 3.6 million images but only a small number had been categorised and the defence said there was no evidence to show that any more than the relatively small number charged were illegal.

He received a 26 week prison sentence, suspended for two years, 40 days rehabilitation and he was sent on a probation service course aimed at challenging his behaviour.

The community order was transferred to the West Mercia area after the court was told that he was leaving Flintshire and was moving to Shropshire.

A seven year sexual harm prevention order was made and he was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for seven years.

Police searched his home following intelligence that indecent images had been downloaded at the address.

Interviewed, he said he was a heterosexual who had never formed a relationship and had attempted to fill a void in his life by becoming an obsessive collector of images of boys.

Some were in underwear, others were naked in a naturists’ way and any acts only involved themselves, not third parties.

He found it difficult to explain his motivation and claimed he viewed the boys from a paternal viewpoint, although he accepted there was a sexual element to it and that he had filed some images under KP, which he said was kiddie porn.

It had become an obsession, he said, and it felt like an addiction which had blighted his life.

Police examined the devices and he admitted that between June 2010 and September last year he made four indecent images and four indecent movies of children at the worst category A.

He admitted that he made 391 indecent images of children and 14 indecent movies of children at category B, with 325 indecent images of children and one indecent movie of a child at category C.

Mr Neary said after the images were found Chivers said he accepted full responsibility, he was sorry and had sought counselling.

Solicitor Melissa Griffiths, defending, said the case involved a small number of category A images, the ages of boys involved were between 14 and 17, there had been no third party involved in the images although it was accepted adults might have been involved in the filming.

She said Chivers was a man of good character and it was a huge shame to him to be facing such charges.

“He is deeply ashamed of himself and is angry with himself for allowing things to get to this situation in the first place,” she said.

Chivers was distraught at the effect of the convictions on his professional life, which would no longer be available to him, and on his family and on those close to him.

Miss Griffiths said Chivers had worked in the South but returned to the area to help care for his father.

He would work in the day, care for his father at night, and it was while sitting in his father’s room for hours at night that he started to access adult sites which were totally legitimate.

But it went on from there to other sites and gradually images became illegal because of the age of the boys.

His father died in 2013 but his sleep pattern had been affected and the offences continued when he would spend hours on his laptop.

He had been unable to stop himself but knew what he had done was wrong, had received counselling and a probation report showed he was amenable to rehabilitation, said Miss Griffiths.

Chivers had been open and honest with the police before the images were found, provided passwords, and had attended court prepared for a custodial sentence.

District judge Gwyn Jones said the sentence was intended to challenge the issues Chivers had.

Immediate custody was justified but he had decided the risk of harm to the public could be significantly reduced by the sentence being suspended.