Former Northampton teacher banned indefinitely by regulator after indecent images of children conviction

A former Northampton primary school teacher who was convicted of possessing indecent images of children has been banned indefinitely by the Government’s teaching regulator.

Anthony John Moore, of Wycliffe Road, Northampton, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing indecent images of a child and three counts of making such pictures. In April 2021, he was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.

The court hear that one “revolting” image in Moore's possession involved a baby while others showed young boys being forced to perform sexual acts on other boys.

The 48-year-old was employed as a SEMH (Social Emotional and Mental Health) Unit Teacher at Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School from September 1, 2016 and was still employed there when he was arrested in October 2017. He was subsequently sacked in December of the same year. None of the offences related to anyone at the school.

Police found online searches for 11-year-old boys on the qualified teacher’s laptop and file-cleaning software that was used a few months before his arrest at the school in 2017.

Moore also told police a man called ‘Paul’ brought two USB drives to his house which contained indecent images and videos of children and they looked at them together for sexual pleasure.

The case was referred to the Teaching Regulating Agency (TRA) shortly after Moore’s arrest.

Following the former teacher’s conviction, the TRA held a professional conduct panel on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education. This was held virtually on July 14, this year. Moore was not present and was not represented.

The report published on the gov.uk website on July 27, said: “The panel considered email exchanges between Moore, the presenting officer and the TRA which, in its view, indicated that Moore had no desire to engage in these proceedings or attend a hearing.

“Accordingly, the panel concluded that Moore’s absence was voluntary and that he was aware that the matter would proceed in his absence.”

In another email to the TRA, Moore said: “I know I’ve been barred from teaching and I’m gutted because that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve only ever wanted to be a teacher. I know that won’t happen again because of a foolish mistake I made meeting someone online who I should have punched in the face and called the police, but I didn’t.

“I do not expect to be able to teach again, nor would I wish to. In any case I would be unemployable as a teacher.

“My case is already in the public domain and I’ll never be able to teach again which deadens me inside.”

The report goes on to say the panel was “satisfied” that Moore’s conduct breached the Teachers’ Standards, including “upholding public trust”, “maintaining high standards of ethics, within and outside of school” and “acting within the statutory frameworks which set out professional duties and responsibilities”.

Although the conduct took place outside of the school, the panel found that the offence could have had an impact on the safety of members of the public, “given that children were victims of the offending conduct”.

The report added: “Possessing and/or making indecent images or pseudo images of children stood contrary to everything a teacher should stand for and is expected to represent, particularly given the volume and categorisation of the images and videos.

“The panel considered that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Moore was not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession.

“The panel was of the view that prohibition was both proportionate and appropriate. The panel decided that the public interest considerations outweighed the interests of Moore.

“The panel was of the view that Moore’s conduct was at the more serious end of the spectrum and was incompatible with being a teacher. As such, the panel decided that it would be proportionate, in all the circumstances, for the prohibition order to be recommended without provisions for a review period.”

In summary, the decision maker Alan Meyrick said: “I have considered the overall aim of a prohibition order which is to protect pupils and to maintain public confidence in the profession. I have considered the extent to which a prohibition order in this case would achieve that aim taking into account the impact that it will have on the individual teacher.

“I have given less weight in my consideration of sanction therefore, to the contribution that Moore has made to the profession. In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession

“In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.

“I consider therefore that allowing for no review period is necessary to maintain public confidence and is proportionate and in the public interest.”

Moore is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. "In view of the seriousness of the allegations

found proved against him”, he will also not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

As well as the suspended sentence, Moore was given a sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offender register for 10 years from his sentencing date in 2021. He was also ordered to undertake a rehabilitation course with the Probation Service.

Read the full TRA report on the gov.uk website here.