UK ex-teacher jailed for 12 years for abuse of children in India

A former deputy head teacher at a London primary school who had pleaded guilty to paying and instructing teenagers in India to abuse younger children was sentenced to 12 years in prison on WednesdayMatthew Smith 35 from East Dulwich in south London was arrested by the UKs National Crime Agency NCA in November last year after its investigators identified that he was sharing abuse material on the dark web and has now been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in LondonAccording to the NCA Smith was online at the time of his arrest speaking to a teenage boy living in India and asking him to send sexual images of a younger child in return for money He also had dark web sites and forums open on his computer which were dedicated to child sexual abuseMatthew Smith is a prolific offender and master manipulator who coerced young men into abusing children on his behalf said Helen Dore Senior Officer of the NCAHe constantly sought out opportunities to gain access to children but was adept at hiding his sexual interest in them He conducted his offending while working as a teacher and head of pastoral care a deep betrayal of the trust placed in himIts clear Smith has absolutely no empathy for his victims and the harm he has caused them He presents a very real and significant risk to children but this investigation has ensured he will spend a long time in prison she saidSmith is also subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and has been placed on the sex offenders register for life The NCA stressed that it is committed to operating online and overseas working with global partners to ensure that children are safeguarded and offenders like Smith are brought to justiceThe agencys investigators interrogated chat logs and financial transactions and were able to establish that Smith had paid that same teenager and another also based in India a total of GBP 65398 to abuse children over a fiveyear periodThe chat logs showed that Smith would instruct the young men to perform sexual acts on boys and would send them images and videos as examples of ones he would like to receive in returnSmith also gave one of them advice on how to befriend children and build their trust with a view to abusing them He had spent various periods working in orphanages and NGOs across India between 20072014 and was later living in Nepal and working at a schoolThe UK investigators found evidence of potential offending by Smith against children while he was working in India The NCA shared information with the Indian authorities and said it continues to work with them in order to identify and safeguard victimsSmith moved back to the UK in July 2022 and began working at a primary school in London in September that year where he was a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care He was found to have posted an online advert at the time looking to secure a flatshare in which he said he was a primary school teacher and could assist with childcareHe was arrested before he could be taken up on his offer the NCA said adding that there is no evidence to suggest he committed offences against children based in Nepal or the UKOfficers recovered over 120000 indecent images of children which Smith had saved on a laptop SD card and on his phone In June the NCA reported that he had pleaded guilty to an initial five offences including causing the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 and was remanded in custody in November 2022Earlier this year he also pleaded guilty to a further 17 counts including encouraging the rape of a child under 13 causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and arranging the sexual abuse of a childThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever