School head faces jail for AI-generated sexual images of teen girls | UK | News

A perverted school head is facing jail after making and distributing AI-generated sexual images of children – including teenage girls in school uniform. Dean Juric, 54, was the respected head at St Robert of Newminster School, which counts education secretary Bridget Phillipson and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford among its former pupils.

But he was snared after believing he was chatting online to a 58-year-old man who was discussing his step-granddaughter, aged seven. In fact it was an undercover Northumbria Police detective he was communicating with via the messaging app Kik, a court head. There was shock at the school in Washington, Tyne and Wear, in January when Juric was arrested and immediately suspended from his post. Now the paedophile faces a prison term of up to 10 years when he is sentenced next month, after admitting making “pseudo” images and videos showing girls as young as 12 in sexual poses.

North Tyneside Magistrates Court  heard he sent the detective an AI-generated image of a teenage girl wearing school uniform who looked about 15 years old, and other images of girls looking around 12 and 13.

Juric also sent the officer videos of young teenage girls, which the court heard were classified as Category A – the most severe form of child sex abuse imagery.

There was no suggestion any of the children in the images were pupils at his secondary school or bore a likeness to any child at the school.

Juric, of North Tyneside, was arrested on 17 January and found to be in possession of 380 illegal images including 31 Category A images.

He admitted three counts of making “pseudo” indecent photographs of children and one count of distributing indecent photographs of children.

The prosecution said his position as a headteacher had been an “aggravating factor”.

He will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on 22 December.

Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, which runs St Robert of Newminster School, said it “immediately suspended” Juric on learning that he was under police investigation and he no longer worked at the school or was employed by the trust.

The trust said it understood the charges did not relate to any school or individual in the whole trust and said its priority was to ensure all pupils and families felt “safe, supported and informed”.

Juric, who had been head since September 2015, was always quick to laud the achievements of ex pupils.

Speaking last year about Bridget Phillipson, who left the school in 2003, he said: “It is always wonderful to hear success stories from our former students.

“Many of those successes may not make the public eye, but in the case of Bridget Phillipson, national attention is now upon her.

“She was clearly destined to go on to great things and as a school community we are very proud to see former students of St Robert’s achieving so highly.

“Bridget is a real source of inspiration to students that they can truly succeed in life through hard work and dedication.

“We wish Bridget well at the start of a significant role as Minister for Education in the new Government.”

And in 2018, as Jordan Pickford starred in England’s World Cup efforts, he said: “”Jordan has been a great inspiration to our other pupils.

“His family have a long association with the school with both his mum and grandmother working here.

“My feeling is that he’s a very focused and determined young man. He’s unassuming but very confident and self assured in a good, positive way.

“It will stand him in good stead for the rest of this tournament and we’re very proud to have a former pupil perform with such excellence.”