A maths teacher cleared by a jury of sexually assaulting eight girls at a school has been banned from teaching after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of 'unacceptable professional conduct'.
Anthony Hook, 66, who has served in the Army, went on trial in 2023 accused of more than two dozen sexual offences against female pupils at the Greater Manchester school where he worked for almost 20 years. After a two-week trial, Mr Hook was found not guilty of all counts.
Admitted interactions
Now it has emerged that Mr Hook, from Urmston, who was sacked by the school, has been banned from returning to the profession. He admitted a string of allegations about interactions which made pupils feel uncomfortable including playing with or praising their hair and singing 'I love you' to one.
But the Manchester Metropolitan University graduate denied allegations he was sexually motivated during the encounters, a claim which a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency accepted following a two-day hearing.
Previous warning
However, the panel ruled he should be barred from teaching particularly as, in 2015, he had been handed a written warning by his school 'not to touch students and staff' following complaints - which he admitted - that he had been touching pupils of both sexes on their arms and shoulders. The conduct panel concluded he had 'failed to learn' from the warning.
He told police he was a 'touchy feely kind of guy'.
Panel findings
The panel's published ruling reveals one pupil, referred to as Pupil A, alleged Mr Hook put his arm around them at least ten times in front of the class and made comments about her lip gloss or said 'I like your lippy'. Pupil A also alleged he ran his fingers through their hair and said 'oh that's nice'.
Mr Hook said his intention was 'benign' but his comments could be 'open to misinterpretation'. He denied singing a three-minute song to her in which he said 'I love you' to Pupil A who felt 'uncomfortable and weird'. The panel ruled this incident 'proven' as the evidence of the pupil was 'compelling'.
Another pupil, referred to as Pupil B, said Mr Hook would run his fingers through her hair. He said he would have stopped if realised they were 'bothered or upset'. He was also said to have urged the pupil to 'come to my house' during a discussion about marking work, although he claimed this was a reference to his desk not his home.
Another pupil, Pupil C, also alleged the teacher ran his fingers through their hair which they described as 'just weird'. Mr Hook said this was just 'light-hearted' fun, and although he admitted running his fingers through the pupil's hair the panel found this allegation 'not proven' as the pupil's comments in police interview put it 'outside of the timescale' of the allegation originally specified.
He admitted he had said 'I will be your prom date' to pupils B and C at different times and had written 'I love Mr Hook' on pupil C's planner.
Court statements
During his 2023 trial Mr Hook, a father-of-two daughters, accepted he may have touched their hair or shoulders, and admitted hugging one alleged victim when she became upset, but denied he had any sexual motive.
"I didn't come into teaching to upset anybody or to assault anybody," he told jurors at Minshull Street Crown Court. "I came to add something to their lives. I kind of think sometimes, it turns out I was completely wrong, with a bit of physical connection it kind of affirms that I am there to try and help them. That's all it has ever been."
The disciplinary panel said the proven conduct showed that Mr Hook had been 'seeking to develop overfriendly relationships with the children under his care and supervision.' and that 'he had sought to develop these relationships through what he perceived, and intended, to be fun and light-hearted remarks and conduct'.
It went on: "The panel considered that Mr Hook had been seeking to support the pupils by the development of such an overfamiliar relationship with them rather than having any sexual motivation. The proven particulars appeared to the panel to demonstrate a professional lacking in understanding and insight into the development and maintenance of appropriate professional relationships between teachers and pupils rather than an individual acting in pursuit of sexual gratification or a future sexual relationship."
His misconduct 'represented a serious blurring of professional boundaries and a failure to safeguard the safety and well-being of pupils under his care and supervision.'
Accepting the panel's ruling that Mr Hook was guilty of 'unacceptable professional conduct', an official on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education has confirmed that the now former teacher is 'prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England'.
Mr Hook can ask for the decision to be reviewed after two years.
