RE teacher banned after having sex with teenager

Bristol teacher Richard Murphy has been banned from the profession

A teacher who had sex with one of his pupils the day after she finished school has been banned from the profession forever.

Richard Murphy, who was a religious education (RE) teacher at a Bristol school, invited the girl to his house and had sex with her, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found.

The teenager, known as Pupil A, also claimed they had previously had "sexual activity" in the school and he sent her "explicit pictures of himself in the staff bathrooms".

The TRA found the 35-year-old guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and banned him from teaching.

"The fact the sexual relationship began less than 24 hours after Pupil A was a pupil at the school was a significant factor in the panel forming this opinion," the TRA report said.

In a witness statement the girl said Mr Murphy once arrived at her place of work and "begged her to leave with him in his car to perform sexual acts upon him".

She added once that was over, he then "dropped her back to work like nothing happened".

The TRA report said Mr Murphy admitted he and Pupil A knew each other and their relationship was "entirely founded on their time as teacher and pupil at the school".

"The panel concluded for all intents and purposes, and certainly in Pupil A's eyes, the relationship between Mr Murphy and Pupil A was one of teacher and pupil and, therefore, one with a power imbalance," the report said.

'Sorry'

It added while Mr Murphy showed "some remorse and regret" that the relationship took place, the panel believed this was based on the impact on himself and not on the pupil.

"Not a day passes by where I don't wish I could go back and change things," Mr Murphy said in a statement submitted to the panel.

"I am sorry to all my former students and my ex-colleagues. I let both myself and all of them down through my actions."

In a statement Avon and Somerset Police confirmed an allegation of sexual activity with a child in breach of trust was reported to them in November 2020.

"A man attended a voluntary interview and the reporting party was updated on the progress of the investigation," a spokesperson said.

"We submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. The CPS made the decision not to charge after concluding that prosecution was not proportionate given the matters of the case.

"The reporting party indicated they would appeal the decision and request a review."