A former secondary school teacher from Croydon has been jailed for seven years and six months after admitting a series of child sexual offences, including making indecent images and grooming victims online.
Clive Bartram, 58, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on October 21 after pleading guilty to 13 offences relating to the sexual exploitation of children and indecent images. At the time of the investigation, he was employed as a secondary school teacher.
Arrest at home
Officers detained Bartram at his home on June 15, 2025, following an inquiry launched after intelligence flagged an online account suspected of distributing indecent material to children. Body camera footage shows him sitting on a sofa as Metropolitan Police officers inform him they are looking into indecent images of children connected to an account linked to him.
During a search of his property, police seized mobile phones, laptops and USB devices. Detectives later discovered that Bartram had access to an additional mobile phone, which he initially denied owning. The handset was recovered from a neighbouring garden after being thrown from a window.
Evidence and victims
Digital forensic examinations revealed Category A, B and C indecent images of children spread across multiple devices and cloud-based accounts. Investigators also uncovered evidence that Bartram had been in direct online contact with children and had obtained indecent images from victims by offering gift vouchers and other incentives.
He had additionally utilised images of a vulnerable individual known to him to establish online identities for communicating with children, informing the person it was "their secret". Five victims aged between 14 and 16 were identified during the investigation, with safeguarding measures put in place.
Sentencing and restrictions
Bartram pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity involving penetration and four counts involving non-penetrative sexual activity. He also admitted six counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child and one count of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13 to 17.
Alongside his prison sentence, Bartram was handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements. He has also been barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.
