Sean Aldridge was 37-year-old father-of-2 teacher. He was sent to prison for twelve years
The school has banned the assistant headteacher from his classroom. He groomed and had sex in his office with pupils.
According to teaching watchdogs, Sean Aldridge was a PE teacher who had no regrets about targeting four girls between 13 and 16.
In July 2019, he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at Portsmouth Crown Court.
The Teaching Regulation Agency has ordered him to be expelled for the rest of his life. He was convicted of multiple offenses while he was teaching at Warblington School in Havant.
Peter Ward chaired the hearing. He stated: “The panel found that Mr Aldridge’s conduct was in direct contradiction to what is expected from the teaching profession.”
The position of teacher is one that can be trusted, but Mr Aldridge had taken advantage of it.
“Mr Aldridge was guilty of some grave and serious acts.
“Mr Aldridge’s acts in committing these offences have undoubtedly caused considerable hurt and suffering for the pupils that he had placed under his care.
The panel concluded that Aldridge’s behavior in committing the offenses would impact public confidence in teaching.
“Further,” he said, “The public’s confidence in the profession will be seriously damaged if he is allowed to teach after his release from prison.”
“In light of Mr Aldridge’s 25 counts of sexual activities with pupils in the report of the Panel, it was clear that there was an important public interest concern for the protection and security of students given the numerous findings about sexual activity.
According to teaching watchdogs, Aldridge was a 39-year-old PE teacher who had no regrets for targeting four girls aged 13-16.
Panel members deemed Mr Aldridge’s actions calculated and deliberate. Aldridge did not submit any documents as mitigation.
The documents presented to the panel did not indicate that Aldridge had any regrets or offered insight into his actions.
Panel members were unanimous in their conviction that Aldridge’s misconduct had been of grave consequence and was a serious case of sexual misconduct.
The first victim he alleged told police that they had been having sex daily and had miscarriages with their child in Year 11.
Aldridge of Southsea in Hamphire is a father-of-two and denies any sexual activity with Warblington School’s girls.
When the alleged abuse occurred between 2007-2012, he was a teacher at Warblington School in Hampshire.
Robert Bryan, the prosecutor of Aldridge said that he had a secret second phone which he kept in a jacket pocket.
The court was told that he used Jack as his middle name as a codename on his secret cell phone. Two of his victims were saved the number as Jack Ridge to keep his identity hidden.
The alleged grooming occurred in 2007, when he gave his cellphone number to a 15-year old student, who can’t be identified for legal reasons. She was suffering from ‘problems home’.
Bryan claimed that his victim’s first sexual encounter ended badly because Bryan continued to repeat the phrase “I could be sent to prison for doing this” repeatedly.
Alan Meyrick (for the Education Secretary) said, “There were no indications from documents before the panel, that Mr Aldridge was remorseful, or had given insight into his conduct.”
My opinion is that the absence of insight indicates that the risk of repeating this behavior could be present, which can put at risk the well-being future of students.