A nurse who blamed the Covid pandemic for turning her into a pedophile has been sidelined for life.
Rebecca Ruler said the stress and loneliness of running a respiratory ward led her to collect indecent images of children and photos of people having sex with animals.
The 33-year-old used a work computer at Royal Bolton Hospital to share the images online between April 2021 and April 2022, and later claimed to police that she was coerced into doing so after meeting a man online.
But police discovered it was Ruler who started the sick conversations and last year he admitted four counts of sexual offenses against children, for which he received a suspended sentence.
Now the former ward manager has been struck off the nursing register for life after the court ruled he had to act to “protect patients” from the paedophile.
Rebecca Ruler has blamed the stress of working in the Covid pandemic for sharing indecent images of children. Pictured: Ruler outside Preston Crown Court in August 2023 carrying a bag for everything
Ruler was given a 12-month suspended sentence after being convicted of four charges including creating and distributing indecent images. Pictured: Ruler leaves Preston Crown Court in August 2023
Ruler, who lived on Springfield Road in Coppull, Lancashire, was found accessing an internet chat room during her shifts at the hospital after police traced her IP address.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council decision last month said: “It is noted that the IP address used to log in to the chat site where the offenses were committed was traced back to the National Health Service Trust the hospital where Miss Ruler was working.
When she appeared at Preston Crown Court last August, it was revealed that she had downloaded 151 category A, 101 category B and 134 category C child abuse images between April 2021 and April 2022. Additionally, she was found to have shared five lewd articles in an online chat with five pedophiles .
When questioned by police, she claimed that a man she had an online relationship with initiated the conversation and she was using chat to impress him.
However, the court found that there was no coercion involved and that it was Ruler who triggered the arguments by expressing his sexual interest in children, it was reported.
Preston Crown Court heard that Ruler had been on the frontline of the Covid crisis, working as a ward manager at Royal Bolton Hospital.
Kim Obrusik, defending, said: “She encouraged men to reach out in relation to these types of discussions as she realized this was a way of receiving male attention.
'She felt she would never get any sexual interest from men and that's how she got that interest.'
She added that Ruler's depression was exacerbated by having to deal with the Covid pandemic, as she daily saw patients dying alone, without their friends and family, the newspaper reported. Daily Star.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, it is easy to forget the horrors of what was happening. The demands, both physical and emotional, cannot be quantified.' she said.
The nurse downloaded the images onto a work computer while supervising the respiratory ward at Royal Bolton Hospital (pictured)
But Peter Barr, prosecuting, said: “It was she who started the arguments by expressing her sexual interest in children. There was no evidence of coercion.
One of the offenses that the Ruler admitted involved the image of 'a person carrying out a sexual act with a live animal, namely dogs, which was grossly offensive, disgusting or of an obscene nature'.
She was found guilty of four charges including creating and distributing indecent images of children.
Judge Richard Gioserano said at the time: “Seeking comfort from strangers is one thing, but she knew they were paedophiles.”
He added: 'Even if the distortion in his thinking can somehow be explained by the emotional impact of his work at the time, I fail to see how this can mitigate his offence.'
He handed Ruler a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
She was also ordered to complete 35 days of rehabilitation activities, including an individual sex offender course, and made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders' register.
Following Ruler's convictions, the Nursing and Midwifery Council convened a panel in September to decide whether she should be suspended or removed from her nursing duties. She has worked as a nurse since 2013.
The NMC panel concluded that Ruler's crimes, which included “making and possessing indecent images of children and photographs of adults having sexual intercourse with live animals”, were so serious that only a disposal order was appropriate.
In its decision to permanently remove Ruler from the nursing register, the NMC panel stated: 'Ms. Ruler seriously undermined the public's trust in her.
'Your criminal offense and subsequent sentence are fundamentally incompatible with being a registered professional nurse.
'Only a suspension order will be sufficient to protect patients, maintain public confidence in the profession and maintain professional standards.'
Royal Bolton Hospital declined to comment.
