Teacher struck off over sexual activity
AMUSIC teacher who engaged in sexual activity with an underage girl has been struck off for unacceptable professional conduct.
A fitness to practise hearing of the Education Workforce Council also found that during the late 1990s and early 2000s Richard Edwards had joined in and encouraged students to drink alcohol on trips abroad and used “inappropriate” innuendo.
Having been struck off the teaching register for an indefinite period, Edwards will not be permitted to reapply for a period of 10 years.
Now aged 70, he is a well-known music teacher for the Gwynedd and Anglesey schools music service and also works as a school learning support officer.
Meeting in Wrexham yesterday the council was satisfied that in 1997 Edwards had asked the teenager, known as “Person B” if she was a virgin. He went on to kiss her, engaged in sexual touching while both were naked and told her that he loved her.
“Person B,” who was described during the hearing as a “credible witness” and of having a “consistent account,” had reported the events to authorities after what she described as “a bit of a breakdown in school”, but no charges were brought forward at the time.
Edwards was later interviewed by police in November 2017, however, after another witness, known as “Person A”, who had a sexual relationship with the married man when she was 19, came forward years later to state the extent of his “abuse” towards her and “Person B,” claiming she “long carried a burden of guilt” that she had not reported it at the time.
Though the sex with her was found to be consensual, “Person A” also recounted a “party atmosphere” and “heavy drinking” during a visit, with Edwards found to have joined in and “encouraged” such behaviour on this and subsequent trips.
Cadi Dewi, presenting officer for the Education Workforce Council, said Edwards’ actions had resulted in “lifelong consequences” for “Person
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B”.
She added that he had been “untruthful in his account,” noting a “pattern of misconduct” having embarked on sexual activity stemming from a student-teacher relationship.
Edwards conceded he had been “too close, approachable and friendly” with students, but had not received adequate training in regards to child protection, noting that despite a successful career he was now “not in a good place”.
He also denied a sexual relationship with the underage girl, adding that the whole process had been “difficult to understand,” having not worked for two years and unable to fund legal support.
Chairman, Mark Brown, described Edwards’ actions as having a “very serious impact” and of displaying “no genuine expression of regret”.
This, despite the time elapsed since the incidents and lack of previous judgements against Edwards, was found to be a case of “serious unprofessional conduct,” including sexual misconduct and an abuse of trust.