Teacher guilty of 39 sex charges against boys

Jack Smith, 28, was convicted at Lincoln Crown Court

A schoolteacher from Lincolnshire has been found guilty of sexually assaulting 14 boys.

Jack Smith, 28, was convicted of 39 charges after a three-week trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

The offences included 30 sexual assaults on 14 boys and nine charges of sexual communication with a child.

Smith, of Pleasance Way, Manby, near Louth, was granted conditional bail until his sentencing on 17 January.

Judge Simon Hirst said: "You will a receive a sentence of imprisonment, the issue is how long that sentence will be."

He will also be barred from working with children or any vulnerable person, Judge Hirst added.

Jurors heard Smith began working as a probationary teacher in September 2019. He was suspended in March 2024 after sexual allegations were made against him.

They included inappropriately touching boys and asking how often they viewed pornography.

The name of the school where Smith worked and the ages of the victims cannot be published to protect their anonymity.

During the trial, jurors were directed to find Smith not guilty of five further sexual assault charges.

Giving evidence, Smith accepted much of his behaviour as described by the boys did happen, but claimed it was not sexually motivated and that any discussion of sexual matters was "innocent".

He showed little reaction as the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.