Mansfield PE teacher banned from profession after sharing indecent images of kids with other paedophiles
A Mansfield PE teacher who was jailed for sharing indecent images of children with other paedophiles and pretending to be a 13-year-old while chatting with them on social media has been banned from teaching for life.
Stuart Street worked at the Queen Elizabeth Academy for two years before he was arrested as he turned up for work in October 2021, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) heard.
Police found a number of indecent and extreme images on his mobile phone, including video of a girl, aged ten to 12-years-old, being raped, as well as drawings of girls, aged eight to ten-years-old, engaged in sexual activity.
None of the images found by the police were pupils at schools where Street had taught, the panel heard.
Street shared indecent images with others, engaged in online conversations purporting to be a young girl, and asked what it was like to have sex with a child.
The school suspended Street and he initially claimed his phone had been hacked before pleading guilty in October 2022.
The panel noted there was “some evidence of a developing insight” after Street engaged with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, and he showed “some understanding of the harm caused.”
But “this was balanced with the late nature of his acceptance of the offences and the continued denial of any sexual gratification in his actions, which the court was quick to reject,” the panel heard.
Street, now aged 29, of Mansfield Road, Edingley, near Southwell, admitted possessing and distributing category A and C images, and possessing prohibited and extreme pornography.
In April 2023 he received a 17-month prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court, and was made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.
The TRA panel found Street in breach of several standards, including public trust in the profession, ethics and behaviour, and regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being.
Marc Cavey, chief executive of the TRA, said the panel prohibited Street from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England, at the hearing in August.
The panel also denied his right to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.