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'Predatory' deputy headteacher who blamed 'heavy workload' for raping 13-year-old boy jailed for 10 years

Christopher Darler has been jailed for 10 years for raping a boy, 13 (SWNS)
Christopher Darler has been jailed for 10 years for raping a boy, 13 (SWNS)

A “predatory” deputy headteacher who blamed his ‘heavy workload’ for raping a 13-year-old boy has been jailed for 10 years.

Christopher Darler, 37, from Heyhouse Way, Sheffield, was described as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Former geography teacher Darler was deputy headteacher at Rawmarsh Community School in Rotherham when he raped the 13-year-old boy, who was not a pupil at the school.

No pupils at the school were involved in Darler’s crimes, police said.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, Judge Peter Kelson, sentencing, described Darler as a "predator” who took his “fantasy into the real world".

He said Darler’s actions “undermined the trust parents and pupils place in educational institutions”.

The court heard Darler used messaging apps Kik and WhatsApp to communicate with his victims.

He was also in contact with another paedophile, with whom he shared images and stories about his sexual exploits, the court heard.

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A popular search term found on Darler's computers was “14-year-old males”.

In a victim impact statement the complainant, who can't be named for legal reasons, said he was "scared" of being left home alone as a result of the abuse.

At a previous hearing, Darler pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, sexual grooming, possession of 47 indecent videos and 44 indecent still pictures, as well as possession of prohibited images of a child and distribution of indecent photos of a children.

Barrister Francis Edusei, mitigating, claimed his client's increased responsibilities at work had left him “unable to cope”.

Christopher Darler was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court (Picture: PA)
Christopher Darler was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court (PA)

But Judge Kelson described it as an “appalling piece of mitigation,” adding that “your workload didn't turn you into a sexual predator on innocent children”.

He said: “To even raise that as a point is the most disgusting insult to all the incredibly hard-working teachers in this country.

"They are going to suffer in their jobs because of the damage you have done."

The judge added: “There was no willingness on the child’s part. You were a predator preying on a child.”

As well as a custodial sentence, Darler was also served with a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting or approaching the victim.

A sexual harm prevention order will also ensure he will be forbidden from unsupervised contact with under-16s in future and will not be able to delete his internet search history.

Judge Kelson said: “The public need to be protected from you."