A former deputy headteacher at a prestigious London primary school has been banned from teaching for life after more than 120,000 child abuse images were found on his devices. Matthew Smith, 36, was jailed for 12 years in 2023 for commissioning the sexual abuse of children in India via encrypted messaging services.
The Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) issued the lifetime ban on Thursday, stating that Smith's actions had a 'very serious nature' and showed a 'lack of evidence of insight or remorse'. Smith had pleaded guilty to 17 offences, including causing the sexual exploitation and abuse of a child and encouraging the rape of a child.
Smith's offences took place between June 2016 and November 2022 while he was living and working as a teacher in Nepal. He returned to the UK in July 2022 and began working as deputy headteacher and head of pastoral care at Thomas's Battersea Primary School, which counts Prince George and Princess Charlotte among its alumni.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Smith at his home in East Dulwich, south-east London. Officers found evidence on his laptop that he used the encrypted messaging app Telegram to request and receive indecent images of children in exchange for money. Children under 13 were abused and recorded as a result of his requests, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
More than 120,000 indecent images of children aged from three months to 13 years old were discovered on Smith's laptop, iPhone and an SD card. There is no evidence that his offences involved children in the UK.
TRA decision maker Marc Cavey said: 'In this case, I have placed considerable weight on the very serious nature of the misconduct found by the panel, which involved the sexual exploitation of children by a teacher. I am also mindful of the lack of evidence of insight or remorse and the likely negative impact of Mr Smith's actions on the standing of the profession.'
