Banned teacher gave kiss to girl aged 11

DAD-OF-TWO GOT JOB EVEN THOUGH HE WAS STILL BARRED FOR STROKING PUPIL’S ARM AT PREVIOUS SCHOOL

A DISGRACED maths teacher kissed an 11-year-old girl during classes after he got himself a job while banned for inappropriate conduct towards pupils at another school.

Tariq Qureshi, 59, who had been prohibited from teaching for three years after he stroked a girl’s arm, told other pupils at a Bolton school he had fallen in love with her and said he was getting a divorce from his wife.

But despite being told he had to apply for his old job back after the ban expired, Qureshi apparently failed to do so and landed a post at a secondary school in Stockport, where staff unaware of his history.

He was reported to police by a colleague after he kissed and hugged a pupil as she left class and told a second girl she was ‘gorgeous.’ At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Qureshi faced five charges of sexual assault.

He was given a 12-month community order after prosecutors accepted his guilty pleas to the lesser offences of common assault.

The father-of-two denied the original allegations – insisting he had no sexual interest in the children.

The court heard Qureshi was hauled before a Professional Conduct Panel in February 2013 after complaints from pupils at St Catherine’s Academy, Bolton, where he taught between 2009 and 2011.

He was banned from teaching in any school, sixth-form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England until 2016 but was

Tariq Qureshi

warned he had to persuade a panel that he was fit to return to the classroom.

The court heard Qureshi had previous convictions for fraud, drink-driving and driving while disqualified.

Alison Mather, defending, said: “He had this job through an agency he was on a supply teacher contract and thought he was fine to teach.”

She added: “He has crossed boundaries but it seems that no work was done with him at that time to fully understand what boundaries he was crossing and the effect he was having on pupils – it seems to be work that needs to take place.’’

Sentencing, Judge Bernadette Baxter told Qureshi: “You have behaved very badly and I don’t accept that you don’t understand, given your history, that you were overstepping the mark.”