Teacher is banned for grooming pupil he’s now made pregnant
A TEENAGER who was groomed by her married former teacher is now pregnant with his baby.
Jeff Thomas, 40, was banned from the teaching profession for starting a ‘sexually-motivated’ relationship with his sixth-form student, Lily-Mai Guard, who is now 18.
The couple have recently moved to Windsor, Berkshire, to start a new life together.
Married design- technology teacher Mr Thomas was working at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Knights Academy, in Bromley, Kent, when he embarked on a relationship with the Year 12 student in 2013.
A disciplinary hearing report published this week revealed that Miss Guard stayed at his flat one night after school on his birthday. It is not known exactly when the affair began, but witnesses say they saw them together around ten times outside school. And Mr Thomas and Miss Guard saw each other increasingly over the summer holidays – while he was still married – making 89 calls and texting 29 times in one month.
The National College for Teaching and Leadership’s misconduct panel banned him from teaching and found his ‘conduct represents a fundamental abuse of his position of trust’. Mr Thomas was banned for at least five years and if he wants to teach again will have to satisfy a professional panel he is suitable to return.
The relationship between the pair continued despite Miss Guard’s brother – a fellow teacher – and the school’s vice principal warning him off several times.
Mr Thomas, who resigned in September 2013, accepted his conduct had breached professional boundaries but denied it was sexually motivated.
And while the panel found no evidence of a sexual relationship while the pupil was at school, they heard the pair were now living together and the teenager is expecting their first child.
The report concluded: ‘The fact that Mr Thomas continued to maintain and develop the relationship with [the] student whilst she was a student, in the face of very clear advice and warnings as to his behaviour, is an aggravating factor in this case.
‘Mr Thomas’s behaviour undermines public confidence in the profession and damages its collective reputation.’ In a state- ment he claimed that Miss Guard only stayed at his house once because ‘she knew I was low and alone on my birthday’.
Mr Thomas said: ‘She arrived at my flat late and unannounced. We went to the cinema and she ended up sleeping on the bed (me on the sofa) because she missed her last train home.’
He added that ‘with hindsight’ he realised it was his fault and he ‘should have sent her home when she arrived’. His wife has now moved to the US.
Miss Guard, a fan of dogs and reality shows such as Made in Chelsea, lived with her parents and six siblings before she moved to Windsor with Mr Thomas.
The 18-year- old, who often posts light-hearted short videos of herself and friends on social media, openly states on Facebook that she is in a relationship with Mr Thomas.
A spokesman for the school said: ‘We are in full agreement with the misconduct panel that Mr Jeff Thomas’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and we fully support the banning order.
‘The school took swift action as soon as it became aware that Mr Thomas had ignored all advice about his professional conduct.
‘This resulted in his suspension and the referral of his case to the appropriate authorities, who have now taken the decision to ban him from teaching.’
‘Abuse of his position of trust’