Teacher ban over images with 'revenge porn' hallmarks
Getty ImagesA teacher at a school for children with complex needs has been banned from the profession indefinitely for sending unsolicited images of female genitalia and a sex toy to a colleague.
Alastair Grandison, 51, sent the pornographic images to a colleague while employed at St Dominic's School, in Godalming, Surrey, in 2022.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said his behaviour "had the hallmarks of revenge pornography".
A spokesperson for St Dominic's said the school did not wish to comment.
On the morning of 13 October 2022, Grandison messaged one colleague to say "thank you for being so tolerant of such an un-PC and quite probably offensive sense of humour".
He messaged the same colleague later that day: "Yikes! Actually, I like it when you get serious and tell me off. Not sure why exactly."
The colleague said Grandison's comments made her "skin crawl".
Grandison was given an informal warning for his behaviour, but the following month sent 13 explicit images, including of breasts and female genitalia, to another colleague.
Among those images were misogynistic comments.
This colleague told the TRA that prior to receiving the pornographic images he and Grandison had never exchanged messages.
The panel said Grandison's behaviour had the hallmarks of the offence of revenge pornography otherwise known as image-based sexual abuse - when an individual shares private, sexual material of another person without their consent.
In a disciplinary hearing in 2023, separate to the TRA hearing, Grandison blamed sending the messages on being drunk while taking anti-depressants.
The TRA looked at this as part of its investigation but said it found no substantiating medical evidence, nor any sign of alcohol misuse.
Grandison is now banned from teaching in England indefinitely. He may not apply for the ban to be overturned until 2031.
St Dominic's School told the BBC it did not wish to comment on the incident.
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