Oxford private school teacher caught with abuse images banned

Paul Dean formerly taught at Summer Fields School in Summertown

A teacher who was given a suspended jail term after indecent images of children were found on his laptop has been banned from teaching indefinitely.

Paul Dean, 68, who worked at two private schools in Oxford, admitted three counts of making indecent images at Oxford Magistrates' Court in February 2020.

At the time he was given a six-month prison term, suspended for two years.

A panel found that a permanent ban was "proportionate and appropriate".

Dean, from Oxford, was also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years last year.

He had taken early retirement in 2015 and was working part-time at Summer Fields School in Summertown.

He was also asked to teach at the Dragon School from 1 January 2017 on a zero hours contract after another teacher left.

Police were contacted after suspicions were raised over the internet history of one of his private laptops after it was serviced.

He was arrested and later admitted making three category A images, three category B images and nine category C images.

A Teaching Regulation Agency panel was told his actions were "deliberate" and that he was "not acting under duress".

But it was given six references from friends and former colleagues aware of his convictions.

One said his pupils had been "blessed by his dedication and selfless devotion to his craft", while another said they would "trust him to the ends of the earth with all of [their] family members".

The panel said although Dean is "undergoing some rehabilitation activities", they are not enough to "mitigate against the serious nature of the offences".

Last year the Dragon School said Dean was suspended immediately after it was made aware of the police investigation.

Summer Fields School was approached to comment.