Paedo ex-deputy head at Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s school jailed
A paedophile ex-deputy headteacher at Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s school has been jailed for 12 years.
Matthew Smith paid £67,000 for sexual photos of children as young as seven and was described as a "master manipulator" in court which also heard how on one instance he paid two young boys "thousands" for sexually explicit material.
Smith was previously a deputy head at the £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Preparatory School, in Battersea, south London. He worked there from September 2022 until November that year, when allegations first emerged against him.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended this school until the end of the last academic year. None of the offences related to his job at the expensive primary school. Before taking up the job at St Thomas’s, he worked at a school in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, between 2017 and July 2022. It was here he unleashed his horrific crimes.
Smith's crimes took place when he was in India (MyLondon/BPM Media)The "sinister" 35-year-old recruited teenagers in India and groomed the children. He offered to pay their school fees in exchange for sexual images. Disgraced Smith was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court today to 12 years in prison, having previously admitted 17 counts of child sex abuse levelled against him.
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Smith, who sat in a white shirt in the dock, remained unmoved as he was jailed for more than a decade.
Addressing the disgraced deputy head, Honourable Justice Martin Griffith said: "I have to deal with you for your pleas to an indictment which contains 17 counts of sexual offences involving boys under 13 years of age. I accept on your behalf that you have made a clean breast of your offending and that you hope to find someway to prevent you reoffending in the future.
"You are just 35, have no previous convictions and were employed as a Deputy Head teacher at an independent prep school in London. I say immediately that the offences for which I have to deal with you were not committed against any children connected with the school or indeed living in this country.
"You had gone to Chennai in India in India at the age of 24. You were there for three years then moved to Nepal where you worked at a school until July 2022. [A psychologists’ report] relates your reason for going to the subcontinent as being your love of the time in Chennai, adventure and holidaying opportunities in the Himalayas. I am afraid your computer shows a much more sinister reason.
"The heart of this case is that you used the Telegram chat system with people who are believed to be adults in the sub-continent. You would pay money - in total some £67,000 - and ask them to provide images of sexual abuse of young boys under the age of 13. All of the offences took place within the timeframe of 2016 to 2022, and were brought to an end by the discoveries of authorities in the UK."
The prestigious £20k-a-year school where Smith had worked (Google Maps)Mr Justice Griffith explained his sentence was based on a "lead charge" in the case which was aggravated to reflect the sentences for the remaining 16 charges, which will run concurrently. Smith will be on licence for a further five years, and will not be released before he has completed at least eight years in prison. The court heard that Smith had also previously worked at an orphanage in Nepal, and that some of the images found on his black Dell laptop derived from his former place of work.
His home in East Dulwich, south London, was raided by police last November, where a cache of more than 120,000 indecent images of children was found on his laptop, an SD card and his mobile phone. Martin Hooper, prosecuting, told the court Smith was on his computer at the time of the raid, and that “a number of tabs” were open which involved “indecent images of children”.
Smith admitted his offending in a police interview, telling officers he had an “addiction” and that he would “give anything to be normal”. Mr Hooper explained Smith had been in contact with a young boy in India who he would pay thousands of pounds to engage in sexual activities with another child. He transferred them nearly £7,000.
The 35-year-old paid out £67,000 for sexually explicit images of children (Facebook)Another folder examined by officers related to material sent by a boy in India whilst Smith was working at the school in Kathmandu.
“The defendant said he would pay their school fees in return,” Mr Hooper said. One boy left his family home to go and live with [Smith’s contact]. The boy [who left his family home] is thought to be seven or eight years old.”
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Smith paid a total of £59,000 for sexual images of the boy. A psychologist report quoted by Mr Justice Griffith said Smith posed a “significant risk of serious harm” to members of the public, adding that his sexual interest in children needed to be “understood”. He was jailed for a total of 12 years, with an extension of a further five years on license.
Helen Dore, Senior Officer of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: “Matthew Smith is a prolific offender and master manipulator, who coerced young men into abusing children on his behalf. He constantly sought out opportunities to gain access to children, but was adept at hiding his sexual interest in them. He conducted his offending while working as a teacher and head of pastoral care – a deep betrayal of the trust placed in him.
“It’s clear Smith has absolutely no empathy for his victims and the harm he has caused them. He presents a very real and significant risk to children, but this investigation has ensured he will spend a long time in prison. The NCA is committed to operating online and overseas, working with global partners to ensure that children are safeguarded and offenders like Smith are brought to justice.”
A spokesperson for the school said: “We have been shocked and appalled beyond measure by this matter and are grateful for the work of the police and courts in bringing this man to account. Mr Smith’s employment at the school, which commenced in September 2022, was terminated with immediate effect when the school first learned of the charges against him in November.
“While the National Crime Agency has confirmed that none of the matters under investigation related to the school or its pupils, these deplorable actions constitute an unforgivable breach of trust and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted or damaged by them. As always, we remain absolutely committed to the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our pupils and our whole school community.”
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