A HEREFORDSHIRE teacher has been barred from the profession for life after sending sexual fantasies to a child.
Laura Hamblin, a deputy head, English teacher, and safeguarding lead, has been banned from teaching after she pleaded guilty to sending sexual messages to a child.
Her conviction came after she was arrested by police in March 2024 on suspicion of sexual communication with a child, later appearing before Gloucester crown court, where she was handed a suspended prison sentence along with a sexual harm prevention order and added to the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
ALSO READ:
- Killer jailed after filming homophobic murder
- Thieves who targeted farm shops are sentenced
- Ban for man caught drug-driving without a licence
The 40-year-old had resigned from her role in September last year, the panel heard.
It was found that between March 21 and March 29, 2024, Ms Hamblin sent WhatsApp messages and voice notes of a "sexual nature" to a "particularly vulnerable" child.
In their sentencing remarks, the judge said Ms Hamblin had arranged for them to swap phone numbers in a bid to help the child.
Messages then began to get "flirtatious", with "full-on sexual fantasy exchanges".
The sentencing remarks referred to ‘1,500 pages of chat’ between Ms Hamblin and the pupil concerned, which the judge described as an ‘abusive obsession’ on the part of Ms Hamblin and which was ‘damaging’ to the pupil.
A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found that the seriousness of the offending behaviour that led to the conviction was relevant to Ms Hamblin’s ongoing suitability to teach, and that she had "fundamentally breached" the standard of conduct expected of a teacher, and she "exploited her position of trust".
It was noted that Ms Hamblin had told the child to delete the messages between them as a way of covering up, which the judge described as a significant breach of trust.
In some cases, the agency imposes a ban on teachers, which they apply to have lifted after a "review period".
However, the panel determined that a review period would not be appropriate in the circumstances.
