A nurse who blamed the Covid pandemic for turning her into a paedophile has been struck off for life. Rebecca Ruler claimed that the stress and loneliness of running a respiratory ward led her collect indecent images of children and pictures of people having sex of animals.The 33-year-old used a work computer at the Royal Bolton Hospital to share the images online between April 2021 and April 2022, and later claimed to police she was coerced into it after meeting a man online.But police found it was Ruler who had initiated the sick conversations and last year admitted to four child sex offence charges, for which she received a suspended sentence.Now the former ward manager has been struck off from the nursing register for life after tribunal ruled it had to act to ‘protect patients’ from the paedophile. Rebecca Ruler 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 hold-all bag Ruler was given a 12-month suspended sentence after being convicted of four charges, including the creation and distribution of indecent images. Pictured: Ruler leaves Preston Crown Court in August 2023Ruler, formerly of Springfield Road in Coppull, Lancashire, had been found accessing an internet chat room during her shifts at the hospital after police tracked down her IP address.A Nursing and Midwifery Council ruling last month said: ‘It is noted that the IP address used to log on to the chat site where the offences were committed was traced to the NHS Trust hospital where Miss Ruler was working.’When she appeared at Preston Crown Court last August, it was revealed she had downloaded 151 category A child abuse images, 101 category B, and 134 category C pictures between April 2021 and April 2022. Additionally, she was found to have shared five obscene articles in an online chat with five paedophiles.While being questioned by police, she alleged that a man she was in an online relationship with had initiated the conversation and she was using the chat to impress him. However, the court heard there was no coercion involved and it was Ruler who had sparked the discussions by expressing her 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 the contact from males in respect of these types of discussions as she realised this was a way to receive male attention. ‘She was feeling that she would never gain any sexual interest from males and this is how she got that interest.’She added Ruler’s depression was exacerbated by having to work through the Covid pandemic as she saw patients dying alone without their friends and family on a daily basis, reported the Daily Star.’As we come out of the pandemic it is easy to forget the horrors of what was occurring. The demands, both physically and emotionally, can not be quantified.’ she said. The nurse had downloaded the images onto a work computer while she oversaw the respiratory ward at the Royal Bolton Hospital (pictured)But Peter Barr, prosecuting, said: ‘It was she who initiated the discussions by expressing her sexual interest in children. There was no evidence of coercion.’One of the offences Ruler admitted to involved an image of ‘a person performing an act of intercourse with a live animal, namely dogs, which were grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character’.She was found guilty of four charges, including the creation and distribution of indecent images of children.Judge Richard Gioserano said at the time: ‘Seeking comfort from strangers is one thing but she knew these were paedophiles.’He added: ‘Even if the distortion in your thinking could somehow be explained by the emotional toll of your work at the time, I can not see how that can mitigate your offending.’ 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 complete 35 days of rehabilitation activities including a one-to-one sex offenders course, and made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders’ register.After Ruler’s convictions, the Nursing and Midwifery Council assembled a panel in September to decide whether she should be suspended or removed from her nursing duties. She had been employed as a nurse since 2013.The NMC panel concluded that Ruler’s crimes, which included ‘making and possessing indecent images of children and photographs adults performing an act of intercourse on live animals’, were so grave that only a striking-off order was suitable.In their decision to permanently remove Ruler from the nursing register, the NMC panel stated: ‘Miss Ruler’s criminal offending has seriously undermined the public’s trust and confidence in her. ‘Her criminal offending and subsequent sentence is fundamentally incompatible with being a registered professional nurse. ‘Only a Striking Off Order will be sufficient to protect patients, maintain public confidence in the profession and maintain professional standards.’The Royal Bolton Hospital has declined to comment.