Jeremy Townend

Introduction

Jeremy Townend is a former primary school teacher who worked at Orleton Church of England Primary School in Shropshire from September 1996 to August 2002. More than two decades after he left the classroom, he was convicted of five counts of indecent assault on a girl under sixteen, offences committed while he was a serving teacher, and in August 2024 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found him guilty of being convicted of a relevant offence. On 20 August 2024 Marc Cavey, the decision maker acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited Townend from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

Background Information

Townend was employed as a Teacher by Orleton Church of England Primary School from September 1996 to August 2002. The panel records give his date of birth as 26 November 1962, his teacher reference number as 9543121 and his TRA reference as 21080, making him 39 or 40 at the time of the offending. He was born before the Teachers’ Standards came into force, and although the panel had no sight of the school policies applicable to his post at the time, it considered that teachers would still have been expected to uphold public trust in the profession, observe proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position in respect of all children, and always act within the applicable statutory frameworks.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The conduct that led to the ban took place between May and December 2001, while Townend was teaching at Orleton. According to the statement of agreed facts, between May 2001 and December 2001 he engaged in sexual conduct with Person A, a girl under sixteen, and he was aged 39 or 40 at the time — a 24-year age gap. The initial instances took place at Person A’s home, where Townend kissed her and touched her in intimate areas over clothing. In December 2001 he drove Person A to a secluded place, where he digitally penetrated her vagina, encouraged her to masturbate him, and performed oral sex on her.

On 25 March 2022, after a trial, Townend was convicted at Cambridge Crown Court of five counts of “Indecent assault on a girl under sixteen”, contrary to section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. On 16 June 2022 he was sentenced at the same court to 54 months’ imprisonment and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely. He was referred to the TRA on 8 September 2022. A certificate before the panel contained a typographical error, dating the conviction to 25 March 2023; a corrected certificate obtained from Cambridge Crown Court confirmed 25 March 2022, and the panel amended the allegation in the interests of justice, finding no unfairness to Townend.

The panel noted that it had no evidence that Townend committed his offending within the school environment or involved pupils that he taught, but found the offence serious and that it involved a child. It noted the Judge’s Sentencing Remarks, in which the Judge stated that the offence had involved “grooming”, “abuse of trust” and “disparity of age”, and that Townend had exploited the victim’s young age, engineered opportunities for them to be together, and exploited the trust of her family by committing indecent assaults in her own home. One of the five counts was categorised as a category 1A offence, the most serious category, “because of the grooming, because of the abuse of trust, because of the disparity of age.” The panel therefore found the behaviour harmful to children in an education setting.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case was decided without a hearing: the TRA agreed to a request from Townend that the allegation be considered on the papers, and he admitted the conviction in a statement of agreed facts signed on 12 June 2024. The panel met virtually on 14 August 2024 and found the allegation proven. While defence representations recorded in the Judge’s Sentencing Remarks described Townend as previously of “good character”, the panel noted it had no supporting evidence, and that he had pleaded “not guilty”. In a handwritten letter to the TRA dated 11 April 2023 he referred to the ““alleged” offence” and the ““alleged” case” despite his conviction, which the panel found demonstrated a lack of insight. It found his actions “calculated and motivated” and recommended a prohibition order with no review period.

Current Status

In a decision dated 20 August 2024, Marc Cavey, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, concurred with the panel’s assessment and imposed a prohibition order. Townend “is prohibited from teaching indefinitely” and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Given the seriousness of the allegations found proved, Cavey decided that Townend shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach — the ban is lifelong with no route back, and the order takes effect from the date it is served on him. Townend has a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice. Although the pre-sentence report had categorised his risk of repetition as low, Cavey judged that the lack of evidence of full insight and remorse meant there remained some risk of repetition, and gave that element considerable weight.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Townend’s teaching career at Orleton ended in August 2002, but the 2022 conviction and the indefinite prohibition order close the door on any return to the profession for life. The panel found the seriousness of the offending relevant to his fitness to be a teacher, and the decision maker placed considerable weight on the sexual nature of the misconduct involving a child, and on what the panel described as “calculated and motivated” behaviour. His 54-month custodial sentence, indefinite listing on the Sex Offenders’ Register and the published TRA findings remain on the public record, defining how the episode is remembered regardless of his earlier standing.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Jeremy Townend” — source