Ben Thomas

Introduction

Ben Thomas is a former teacher at St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Brigg, a primary school where he taught music from September 2019 to September 2021. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to taking indecent photographs of children, including 16 Category C photographs of his own pupils, and to making thousands of indecent images of children, and received a 24-month custodial sentence at Grimsby Crown Court. He took no part in the Teaching Regulation Agency proceedings that followed, and a professional conduct panel heard the case in his absence in June 2024, finding the convictions proved. On 1 July 2024 the decision maker for the Secretary of State prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Thomas, born on 31 March 1992, held teacher reference number 3854231 and worked as a music teacher at St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, Brigg, a primary school, from September 2019 to September 2021. The case arose when a parent of a pupil raised a concern about inappropriate communication from Thomas to their child, which led to a police investigation. The criminal case was dealt with at Grimsby Crown Court, and the matter later went to the Teaching Regulation Agency, whose notice of hearing dated 18 March 2024 alleged convictions of a relevant offence.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated, not alleged. Thomas pleaded guilty at Grimsby Crown Court and his convictions are court-record facts; the images included photographs of his own pupils. He did not participate in the TRA proceedings, which went ahead in his absence.

The allegation, as amended, was that Thomas was guilty of having been convicted of a relevant offence: on 12 July 2022 he was convicted of taking indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children between 16 June 2021 and 22 July 2021, and of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child on 3 occasions on 10 August 2021, in each case contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. The panel noted that on 15 July 2022 he pleaded guilty to a number of criminal offences, which included taking 16 Category C photographs of children, who were his pupils, and making thousands of indecent photographs of children. The photographs made ranged from the most serious Category A images (1,625 in total) to Category C images (20,063 in total): the three making offences comprised 1,625 Category A photographs and videos of a child, 1,298 Category B photographs and videos of a child, and 20,063 Category C photographs and videos of a child. The panel also noted that Thomas had been convicted of downloading over 20,000 indecent images onto his laptop from March 2019 onwards.

The sentencing judge identified aggravating features including the period of possession, the vulnerability of the children in the images, the number of different victims and that Thomas had systematically stored the images. The judge described his actions as an “abuse of trust placed in you by the school who employed you”, with part of his offending arising from a “grotesque abuse of trust”, and noted an increase in seriousness in moving from viewing images to actually creating the photographs. On 5 August 2022 Thomas was sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court to a 24-month custodial sentence in respect of the videos, with concurrent sentences of 12, 8 and 4 months in respect of the photographs, and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, until 2032. The panel found both particulars of the allegation proved, found the convictions were of relevant offences, and found breaches of the Teachers’ Standards, including the duties to safeguard pupils’ well-being and observe proper boundaries.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The immediate consequences were criminal: a 24-month custodial sentence imposed at Grimsby Crown Court on 5 August 2022, concurrent sentences for the photograph offences, and a sexual harm prevention order running until 2032, to which the panel noted he remained subject. Thomas engaged in no way with the regulatory process. The panel noted that three letters sent to him between January and May 2024 were each signed for as being received by a person giving their name as ‘Ben’ or ‘Thomas’, inferred that he had received them, and found his absence was voluntary and that he had waived his right to attend; applying the R v Jones guidance, it proceeded without him. The panel concluded his conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. No public response from Thomas is recorded.

Current Status

On 1 July 2024, Sarah Buxcey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, imposed a prohibition order with immediate effect, with no review period, after the panel’s virtual hearing of 17 June 2024. Thomas 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, the decision maker also decided that he shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. The panel had recommended no review period, noting the sentencing judge’s finding of an increase in seriousness from viewing images to creating photographs. The order takes effect from the date on which it is served on him, and he has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days from the date he is given notice of it.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Thomas’s teaching career ended with the case, and the indefinite prohibition order permanently bars him from teaching in England, with no route back through restoration. The criminal consequences continue alongside it: he remains subject to a sexual harm prevention order that runs until 2032. The panel noted his early guilty pleas and that the sentencing judge had referenced genuine remorse and steps taken to address his offending behaviour, but gave his previously good history minimal weight, since some of the offending took place during that period. No public response from Thomas to the proceedings or the ban is recorded.

Sources

• TRA, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Ben Thomas” — source