Head teacher guilty of harassing trainee

Head teacher Gregory Hill harassed a colleague for almost a year

A former head teacher has been found guilty of harassing a trainee teacher who worked at the school that he ran.

Gregory Hill, 48, made romantic advances towards the 23-year-old over an 11-month period, despite her asking him to stop.

At Norwich Magistrates' Court, District Judge Williams said Hill had a "chilling ignorance" of the power dynamic he held over staff at the Howard Junior School in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

Hill was also found guilty of resisting arrest by pretending to be unconscious and injuring himself when approached by the police.

Hill had pursued a relationship with the trainee teacher and messaged her that he had "fallen in love" with her.

In one message the victim replied: "I never had feelings with you, this needs to stop."

District Judge Williams said the trainee was responding to her boss "out of obligation", and that Hill was "obsessive and controlling" of young teaching staff.

The court had previously heard Mr Hill pressurised, controlled and isolated the trainee from other members of staff.

The judge praised the victim that she had been a "credible witness", and that Hill had been "difficult" during the trial and presented himself as "the victim".

Prosecutor Monali Raleraskar said the victim's career had been "tarnished" and she had become "a shadow of her self".

Hill was detained by officers in the car park of his school

Hill was also found guilty of resisting arrest after police body-worn camera footage was shown to the court.

Arresting officer PC Heidi Hollington said she and PC Laura Wild wore civilian clothes to "try to be discreet" when going to arrest Mr Hill at school at 08:50 GMT on 6 March 2023, which was during term time.

During the arrest Hill lay on the ground and complained he had been assaulted. He then threatened to sue police for hundreds of thousands of pounds as he said he could not breathe.

District Judge Williams said the footage was "bizarre" as Hill pretended to be unconscious and the injuries he had from the arrest "were caused by himself".

The judge said "the police were not aggressive" and praised the officers for being "incredibly patient" with Hill.

At one point during his arrest, Hill pretended to be unconscious

The court heard previously that following a school assembly Hill had implied the victim was hungover, and she secretly recorded a conversation with him.

Hill said the recording was a "set up" so she could blackmail him, but the trainee teacher said: "I’m doing this so no-one ever has to deal with the likes of this man ever again."

In a statement, she described Hill’s messages as a “constant drain on me, both mentally and physically... he was always hounding me with messages and emails late at night."

'Changed me as a person'

She said she was never able to relax or have personal time as Hill expected her to reply each time.

"When I failed to do this, he took this personally and I then received a barrage of negativity from him," she said.

"I started to struggle with sleeping and would have nightmares. I had concerns that Hill was aware of my movements and this led to a fear of seeing him when I was out and about.

“These last few years have completely changed me as a person and I do not know if I will ever return to the person I once was.”

Hill had previously made headlines when, during the 2022 World Cup, he pledged to change the name of his school to Harry Kane Junior if England won the tournament.

Det Con Claire Lordan, who led the Norfolk Police investigation, said: “Hill exploited and abused his position. He was someone who was trusted by parents and the wider community.

"When he should have been supporting a young woman in her first teaching position, he was self-serving, constantly seeking out opportunities for contact and attention from her, affecting her work and personal life, making her afraid and afraid to be alone."

Hill will be sentenced in September.