HOSPITAL workers were forbidden from vouching for the good character of a nurse caught making indecent images of children, a court heard.

Michael Maginnis lost his jobs at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and Brighton College during the police investigation which found the images.

The 54-year-old has pleaded guilty to nine counts of making indecent images of children and one offence of possessing a prohibited image between 2007 and 2014 from his former home in Caroline Way, Eastbourne.

As he left Lewes Crown Court he embraced former hospital colleagues who had been stopped from vouching for his good character during proceedings.

Martin Lewis, defending, said Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust told staff they could not speak on the case in open court, which judge David Rennie branded "absurd."

He said: "I don't understand that a trust would say people cannot speak to a judge."

He invited them to speak anonymously but they declined, saying they were advised against it.

Maginnis moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, to escape the "scandal" that broke out when he was arrested for a string of child pornography offences.

Judge Rennie, who handed him a 12-month suspended sentence and told him to pay £300 in costs, said that as Maginnis had moved, punishments like community service would not be feasible.

He warned that police share information across countries and said he committed a crime which "destroys young lives".

Martin Lewis, defending, said Maginnis had been "petrified" of the impending court proceedings and left the country when the "scandal" broke out.

He said: "He thought he had no alternative. He felt he may have been a victim of people wanting to do their own policing."

Maginnis moved the images to a memory stick, believing this would wipe them from the hard drive, and never viewed them again, Mr Lewis said. He added: "He is not that good with computers."

Maginnis will now live off £950 a month from his pension and rent from a flat he owns in Berlin, the court heard.

The trust did not respond when asked by The Argus why steps were taken to prevent colleagues vouching for Maginnis.

It previously said Maginnis was excluded from work as soon as police revealed the investigation and was later dismissed.

A trust spokesman said: “There is no indication that any of the charges are related to his work.”

Brighton College did not comment after the court proceedings but a spokeswoman previously said Maginnis worked part-time as a member of support staff from May 1, 2009, until February 10, 2015. The college suspended him as soon as it learned of his arrest in November 2014.

She added: “He is no longer an employee and none of the charges relate to his former role at the college.”

A boarding handbook for parents and pupils, published by the school for 2014-15, said that from 8pm to 9pm, “nurse Mike Maginnis will rotate through the five boarding houses, checking that all is well, that medicines have been administered.”