Gilbert Antony

Introduction

Gilbert Antony is a former teacher at The Crypt School in Gloucester who was banned from teaching for life after being convicted of possessing and distributing indecent images of children. He had taught at the school for nearly twenty years, having joined on 1 September 2002, before his arrest at the school itself in June 2022 exposed a pattern of offending that included images of children as young as ten. A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency found all of the allegations against him proved in February 2024, and on 29 February 2024 the decision maker, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Antony was born on 4 November 1969 and worked as a Teacher at The Crypt School, Gloucester from 1 September 2002. He was arrested at the school on 28 June 2022 and suspended the same day, pending investigation. His dismissal for gross misconduct followed on 18 July 2022, and the school referred him to the Teaching Regulation Agency on 3 November 2022. His case was given TRA reference 21217.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

On 28 June 2022, Antony was arrested at The Crypt School for possessing an indecent image of a child on his phone. According to the police report seen by the panel, a search warrant was executed at his home address the same day, where “Twenty seven devices” were seized. Police also attended the school that day, where Antony consented to the search of his device; the search revealed indecent images of children ranging from approximately 10 to 18 years old, and he was arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children. On 30 June 2022, Gwent Police informed the school that he had pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing indecent images of children, including one prohibited image.

On 30 June 2022, Antony was convicted of three offences: distributing Category C indecent images of children between 25 May 2022 and 28 June 2022, contrary to the Protection of Children Act 1978; possessing 144 Category C indecent images of children on 28 June 2022, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1988; and possessing a prohibited image of children on 28 June 2022, contrary to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The decision then records that, under an 18 July 2022 heading, he pleaded guilty at Newport Magistrates’ Court to a further offence of distributing one Category B indecent image of a child on 21 July 2020, and was sentenced that day: a concurrent four-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a two-year rehabilitation activity requirement, 180 hours of unpaid work within twelve months, and the sex offenders’ register for ten years. The Category B offence drew a six-month suspended sentence, with the same rehabilitation and unpaid work requirements. A ten-year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed, barring him from any work involving the care, custody or control of children under 18.

An Allegations Management Meeting chaired by Gloucestershire’s Local Authority Designated Officer was held on 4 July 2022, and a disciplinary meeting on 14 July 2022. Four days later, on 18 July 2022, the school dismissed Antony for gross misconduct.

At the TRA hearing, held virtually and in public on 26 February 2024, Antony was neither present nor represented. He admitted the allegations, and the panel found all of them proved, together with the fact that they amounted to convictions of relevant offences. The panel noted that he had admitted obtaining sexual gratification from the images, accessing child abuse material around four to five times a week over a period of one to two years, and being interested in female children. It found that while none of the images involved his own pupils, he “disassociated” the children in the images from the children he taught, and abused his trusted position as a teacher in respect of children more widely. In a letter to the school written on 9 July 2022, he stated that he had “tried to fight a darkness” inside of him.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found that Antony’s conduct breached multiple Teachers’ Standards, including safeguarding pupils’ well-being and upholding public trust in the profession, and that it was contrary to the school’s safeguarding policies despite his having received safeguarding training. It observed that he had expressed regret that was largely self-directed, with limited recognition of the impact on victims, and told police he probably would have carried on offending had he not been stopped. Concluding that prohibition was both proportionate and appropriate, the panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period, noting that the images were of children the same age as those he taught and that the offending was repetitive rather than a one-off. On 29 February 2024, decision maker David Oatley, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, imposed a prohibition order indefinitely, deciding that Antony shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Current Status

Gilbert Antony is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. No review period was attached to the order, meaning he cannot have it reconsidered after a set interval, and he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. He remains subject to the ten-year sexual harm prevention order and sex offender registration imposed in 2022. The prohibition order took effect from the date it was served on him, and he had a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of being given notice of it.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A teaching career of nearly two decades at a single school ended with Antony’s dismissal for gross misconduct in July 2022 and a lifetime ban from the profession in February 2024. His criminal convictions left him with a ten-year place on the sex offenders’ register, a suspended prison sentence, and court orders that bar him from any position involving children under 18 and restrict his ownership and management of internet-capable devices. The panel found no evidence of remediation, and the decision maker gave considerable weight to his lack of full insight and remorse in ruling out any future route back to teaching.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Gilbert Antony” — source