Ban for teacher who sent sexual messages to 'child'

A teacher has been banned from the profession after he was convicted of engaging in sexual communication with someone he believed to be a child.

Sukhwinder Singh was employed as a maths teacher at Boldon School in South Tyneside, when he was arrested for the offence in February 2023.

Documents from a professional conduct panel show Mr Singh admitted committing the crime over a period of about a month and he was handed a four-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, at Newcastle Crown Court last June.

Boldon School and South Tyneside Council have been approached for comment.

Mr Singh resigned from his job at the school following his conviction.

Evidence considered by the panel included messages Mr Singh had sent to the person he believed to be a child, but it is understood he was instead communicating with an undercover police officer.

The conduct panel's decision, published at the end of June, said Mr Singh’s actions raised "obvious and significant" public and child protection concerns and his actions were considered to be "an abuse of a position of trust".

In light of this, Mr Singh will never be able to apply for his teaching ban to be lifted, the panel added.

"The panel considered that public confidence in the profession would be very seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Singh was not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the profession," said the panel.

"This was conduct that was, very clearly, at the most serious end of the spectrum, amounting to an egregious breach of the trust placed in him as a teacher."

The panel said Mr Singh sent several photos to the person he believed was a child - including from his classroom - asked her for intimate photos and sent "suggestive" messages.

It added while Mr Singh had had up until that point an "unblemished" teaching career, his actions had been deliberate as he had initiated the communication.

It said: "Mr Singh engaged with this communication with the child whilst on school premises and disclosed his profession to the child.

"Despite the child disclosing her age on a number of occasions, Mr Singh repeatedly engaged in sexual communication with the child."

As well as the suspended prison sentence, a sexual harm prevention order was placed on Mr Singh for seven years and he was ordered to take part in rehabilitation activities.

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