Yorkshire headteacher is banned after pleading guilty to child sex offences

Douglas Speight was jailed for 12 years at Bradford Crown Court in 2021 after he pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and voyeurism.

The court heard that he sexually abused a teenage boy and secretly filmed young boys naked in a changing room.

Judge Mansell described him as a “dangerous, predatory, manipulative paedophile” who posed “a very real and serious risk” to children.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has ruled that Speight, now 46, should be banned from teaching indefinitely, following a misconduct hearing last month.

Speight, who worked at a Yorkshire school which cannot be named for legal reasons, did not attend the hearing.

The panel said he had shown no remorse and his offences and he still poses a “significant” safeguarding risk.

It added: “The panel considered that Mr Speight’s behaviour in committing the offence would undermine public confidence in the teaching profession, if Mr Speight was allowed to continue teaching."

Earlier this week, the TRA announced a secondary school teacher from Hull had been banned from the profession after he was caught with indecent images of children.

Adam Jones, who worked at Malet Lambert School in Hull, told police he was sexually attracted to girls as young as 13 and he had looked at indecent images on Snapchat.

The 30-year-old was convicted of two counts of making indecent photographs at Humber Magistrates’ Court in October 2021.

He avoided prison but was given a community order which required him to complete 20 days of rehabilitation and placed on the sex offenders register.