UCAS worker's child porn shame
Administrator at the university admissions service Graham Jowett, 60, had developed an "unhealthy interest in paedophilia" and felt guilty about it, his GP told an inquest in Gloucester.
"He said he had drifted into internet paedophilic websites and photographs and he was very concerned his employers might find out about this," said Dr Alexander Owen.
"He was very concerned his employer would find out he had accessed such material while at work.
"He thought colleagues were talking about him and he was feeling guilty about his activities.
"He asserted his belief that his interest in these images was innocent and he would never harm a child.
"In my opinion he was a sensitive and slightly vulnerable individual who had developed an unhealthy interest in paedophilia."
The inquest heard that before committing suicide in the River Severn, Mr Jowett destroyed his home computer and posted the key of his house to his brother.
He left a note in his home in The Greenings, Up Hatherley, saying 'God bless all my family and friends. Graham, with love.'
Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore said he was satisfied there was clear evidence that Mr Jowett intended to kill himself and he recorded a suicide verdict.
Mr Jowett had gone missing on June 12 last year leaving a message on the answerphone at his UCAS office saying he would not be coming in.
He was found dead in the river by a canoeist at Wainlodes on June 17.
His car had already been found abandoned a mile up river.
Chloe Braithwaite, head of human resources at Cheltenham-based UCAS, said Mr Jowett had worked for the organisation since 1995 as an administrator and was a valued employee.
However, from 2003 onwards he had been having paranoid thoughts, fearing he was about to get the sack and feeling that the management blamed him whenever anything at work went wrong or something went missing.
Ms Braithwaite said that in February last year Mr Jowett mentioned "out of the blue" that he had "inadvertently accessed naked imagery" while looking at art on the internet.
"He was worried UCAS would find out and sack him.
"He was assured that whatever he did in his own time was his own business as long as it did not involve criminal acts," said Ms Braithwaite.
"At no stage did he ever mention images of children."
"His use of the internet at UCAS was never at a level to warrant investigation and no concerns were raised by colleagues," she added.
Mr Jowett's younger brother Peter told the inquest that in the mid-1990s he had worked as a languages teacher at the prep school of Cheltenham College.
He said that on the morning of 13 June he was surprised to receive a letter from his brother in which he had enclosed his house key.
The letter said "Look after my front door key for a while."
PC Karen Dawkins said that on June 17 two canoeists found Mr Jowett's body floating face down and caught up in branches overhanging the river at Wainlodes near the Red Lion pub.
Pathologist Dr Jonathan Christie-Brown did the post-mortem.
Mr Jowett was wearing green wellingtons, socks, pyjama bottoms and top, a green cardigan and a brown blouson jacket.
Immersion in water was the cause of death, said the doctor.
