William Nulty, 32, a former teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes primary school in Bury, has been banned from the profession for life after being convicted of historic sexual offences he committed as a teenager. The indefinite prohibition order, with no provision for a future review, was confirmed by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) in September.
Conviction and Sentencing
Nulty was convicted at Minshull Street Crown Court on April 3 2025 of nine counts of historic sexual offences against a girl under 13, which took place between 2010 and 2012 when he was aged between 16 and 18. The offences included three counts of sexual assault of a girl under 13, two counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and four counts of assaulting a female child under 13.
He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment suspended for two years, along with 300 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
Panel Findings and Reasons for Ban
The professional conduct panel cited Nulty's 'lack of evidence of insight and remorse', the 'risk of repetition of this behaviour', and 'maintaining public confidence in the profession' as reasons for the ban. The panel noted that Nulty had maintained his innocence and made no reference to any impact on the victim, with his comments referring only to the trauma he had been trying to recover from.
Police first received a disclosure regarding Nulty on July 17 2022, by a female who alleged the offences had taken place '10 or 11 years previously'. He was interviewed by police two days later, suspended from his role on September 1 that year, and dismissed by the school on September 28.
Prohibition Order and Appeal
The panel concluded that the offences were 'relevant to teaching, working with children and in an education setting' and that 'public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if [this] conduct were not treated with the utmost seriousness'. A prohibition order was declared 'proportionate and appropriate', with the panel concluding that 'the public interest considerations outweighed the interests of Mr Nulty'.
TRA chief executive Marc Cavey cited Nulty's 'very serious misconduct' and 'risk of repetition and future harm to pupils' as justification for the ban, adding: "Given the lack of evidence of insight and remorse, I concur that there is some risk of repetition of this behaviour." Nulty has 28 days to appeal the decision with the High Court.
