A DISGRACED ex-teacher's 'reputation is in tatters' after he was placed on the sex offenders register at Greenock Sheriff Court for sending indecent videos and messages to schoolchildren.

Shamed former PE master Michael Wallis, 50, had been 'well respected in his community' before he 'breached his position of trust' with three teenage boys, a sentencing hearing was told.

Wallis has been spared a jail term but will never teach after sending sexually explicit videos to the youngsters 'at an address known to the prosecutor within the jurisdiction of Greenock Sheriff Court'. The Telegraph is unable to disclose the location due to legal restrictions.

The court heard Wallis had added several pupils as friends on social media and began messaging them through Facebook Messenger, with the conversation initially being appropriate.

However, in November last year, the teacher sent indecent comments and sexually explicit videos that he had filmed himself to three boys all aged under 16.

In one of the videos, a naked woman could be seen lying on her back 'apparently unconscious' and a male voice in the background was recognised as being Wallis.

READ MORE: School teacher 'filmed himself with naked woman and sent video to his pupils'

The teacher sent a further seedy film to other pupils without warning, along with disgusting messages referring to the female in derogatory terms.

He also sent both videos to a colleague last October.

Wallis, now living south of the border, sent the videos to a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds last year.

Police cautioned and charged him in December and he told officers: "I am mortified. I am so sorry."

Defence solicitor Alan Rodgers told the court this week that his client had consumed a 'considerable amount of alcohol' when he sent the vile content, and said the matter has been 'professionally and personally devastating for him'.

Mr Rodgers said: "Every so often a case will cross one's desk that is so hard to believe that it is quite hard to quantify what was going through his mind.

"How it has come to this point is quite hard to fathom.

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"His reputation is in tatters."

The lawyer added: "All that having been said, he is a big boy and he needs to know to conduct himself a lot better than this.

"He knows he has made a monumental error of judgement.

"He struggles to explain his behaviour."

Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison sentenced Wallis to a community payback order with 120 hours of unpaid work to be completed within a year.

He will also be under supervision for two years and was placed on the sex offenders register for the same length of time.

Wallis is also under investigation by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and is likely to be struck off the teaching register, the court was told.