Devon teacher struck off after sending pupil explicit photos

A former employee at Dawlish College has been struck off from ever being able to teach again after sending one of his pupil's who had just left the school multiple indecent images of his genitals and meeting up with her. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) hearing heard how 54-year-old Jason Parnell started sending messages to a vulnerable pupil via Snapchat and email within two weeks of her leaving school.

They escalated very quickly to Mr Parnell telling the pupil he loved her and arranging to meet her. The panel heard how Mr Parnell, a qualified teacher, was employed as a design and technology technician at the school in 2007.

Although he was not employed as a teacher, he covered numerous lessons across all year groups. In October 2022, concerns were raised that there were rumours regarding a relationship between Mr Parnell and the pupil. The following month he was suspended and the school launched an internal disciplinary investigation.

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A disciplinary hearing was held in January 2023, and the school later referred it to the TRA. Mr Parnell, who denied the allegations, was not present at the recent hearing and was not represented. The outcome of the case including the decision and reasons can be found here.

It was alleged he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and/ or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

The three allegations were that between approximately July 2022 and September 2022, he exchanged messages of an inappropriate nature with a former pupil, referred to as Pupil A, of Dawlish College, sent her a pic of his genitals, and met her outside school grounds on at least one occasion.

In relation to his conduct, it was alleged he continued when he knew and/ or ought to have known Pupil A was vulnerable, and that his conduct was sexually motivated.

The panel heard from two witnesses who attended the hearing. One told how the pupil had shown them messages Mr Parnell had sent to her on Snapchat

When Mr Parnell was interviewed as part of the internal disciplinary investigation, he admitted messaging the pupil shortly after they left the school and was no longer a pupil there. He said he ‘may have said I loved her’.

Other messages included, ‘I really like you but it can’t go anywhere’, and asked to meet her to give her a bracelet.

The second witness told how they had been shown graphic images sent by Mr Parnell to the pupil which included two of his penis and one from the neck down to his knees with his underwear pulled down to show his penis. She added she had also seen a photograph of Mr Parnell and the pupil together at a beach.

The messages were said to have stopped on September 1, 2022.

Panellists considered that during his interview as part of the internal disciplinary investigation, Mr Parnell explained that he had had a ‘really odd year' but it was not deemed to be a 'cogent reason' for his conduct.

He also stated during the interview, 'I’m sorry; if I could take it back I would’, that he was 'ashamed of [his] behaviour’ and acknowledged the impact on the pupil saying she 'doesn’t deserve this’.

However, the panel also noted when he was first questioned about the rumours, Mr Parnell denied it and asked the pupil to delete the Snapchat messages. He also suggested the conduct was two-sided, which the panel concluded showed Mr Parnell 'lacked insight' into his actions and appeared to show 'little or no remorse'.

The panel said: "The panel was satisfied that while the conduct occurred after Pupil A had left the school, it was less than two weeks after Pupil A had [redacted]. Additionally, some of the conduct occurred during school working hours while Mr Parnell was on a school trip in his professional capacity as a member of staff of the school.

"The panel was also satisfied that in light of the timescales, Mr Parnell used his position of trust obtained while Pupil A was at the school and he was teaching her to instigate the conduct.

"Lastly, the conduct as proven was known among other students of the school, including some of those students seeing the indecent images sent by Mr Parnell. As such, the panel concluded that the conduct of Mr Parnell fell significantly short of the standard of behaviour expected of a teacher."

It added: "His behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher, and he exploited his position of trust."

Regarding the severity of the offences, it said: "The panel considered that this case was serious but recognised none of the allegations included physical sexual activity."

The panel concluded Mr Parnell should be banned from teaching indefinitely.

In its conclusion, it stated: "In view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Parnell shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach."