Latest news with #AlunHighSchool
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
French teacher, 46, who posed as boy online to entice teen girls to send sexual images is jailed for eight years
A French teacher who posed online as a boy to entice teenage girls to send sexual images has been jailed for eight years. Simon Clark, head of department at the Alun High School, in Mold, North Wales, preyed on 26 youngsters, aged between 10 and 15. The 46-year-old, a father of two, whose wife has since divorced him and his career ended, has 'lost everything', Chester Crown Court heard. Clark pretended to be a 14-year-old boy using a fake Snapchat profile with the name 'Jamie-jones6968' to send hundreds of explicit messages to young girls, persuading some to send sexual images in return. Passing sentence, Judge Simon Berkson told the defendant he represented a 'significant risk' to children. He kept his head bowed as he was jailed. Judge Berkson said: 'It is, of course, every parent's worst nightmare, this sort of thing happening to their children. 'Many of the offences involve sexual communication, some involving inciting children to engage in sexual activity. This was well planned and sophisticated criminal behaviour. 'You clearly have a sexual interest from the sexual abuse of children and gain sexual gratification from it.' Clark, formerly of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had admitted at earlier hearing to 29 offences; one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16, one count of making 26 indecent images of children of Category A, one of making 29 indecent images of children of Category B and one of making 81 indecent images of children of Category C. Earlier, John Philpotts, prosecuting, told the court Clark's activities were only discovered by chance by one mother, 'looking over the shoulder' of one girl. On January 24 2023, the mother called police after discovering her 12-year-old daughter had received sexually explicit messages on Snapchat from the 'Jamie Jones' account. The mother only found out as her daughter had been 'grounded' for a separate matter and had her phone confiscated so was using a laptop her mother had access to. In May 2023, police traced the 'Jamie Jones' account to Clark's home address, discovering he was a father of two children. Clark was arrested at the school where he worked. Investigation of four devices seized from his home revealed chat logs of hundreds of sexually explicit communications with a large number of other young girls along with explicit videos, going back nine months. Mr Philpotts said some examples of the messages Clark sent included, to a 12-year-old girl, 'I have a big dick, you have big tits. Any pics? You get horny much? Get those fingers wet'. Clark then sent a video of a sex act. To another girl, also 12, he sent another message saying: 'You look cute and filthy' before asking about her 'kink' and going on to mention, 'hair pulling, getting smacked, Daddy kink. You have big tits'. And to a girl aged 15, Clark sent the message: 'Is it true some girls are dirty in bed? Show your tits and I will show you a video of me. Play with them.' Clark initially denied any wrongdoing but admitted all the offences at an earlier hearing. Jeremy Rawson, mitigating for Clark, said his wife had divorced him and he only has limited contact with his children and other family had disowned him. Mr Rawson added: 'He is a man who is educated, a teacher, a professional, worked in the education system for 20 years, all of that is lost. 'He has lost everything as a result of what he has done. There is a black side to his character. 'There are no winners in this case whatsoever.' In addition to his custodial sentence, Clark will be on licence from jail for four years and has also been added to the sex offenders' register for life and handed restraining orders preventing him from contacting the victims. In a statement, Detective Constable Louise Murphy and Detective Constable Megan Griffiths, from Cheshire Police, who led the investigation, said: 'Firstly, we would like to praise the victims in this case for the bravery and courage that they have shown throughout this investigation. 'Clark was a teacher, he held a position of trust, and the messages we recovered clearly showed that he was well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16, but despite this he continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires. 'It was apparent throughout the investigation that Clark is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls, with no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families. 'While they will never be able to forget what he did, we hope the sentence handed to Clark will provide the victims with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.' For advice on identifying signs of sexual exploitation visit Child Sexual Exploitation & How to Keep Your Child Safe at
Leader Live
4 days ago
- Leader Live
Ellesmere Port: Ex-teacher jailed over child sex offences
Simon Clark, who is of no fixed abode from Ellesmere Port and head of department at the Alun High School, in Mold, preyed on 26 youngsters, aged between 10 and 15, Chester Crown Court heard. The 46-year-old, whose wife has since divorced him and his career ended, has 'lost everything', the court heard. He kept his head bowed as he was jailed. Clark pretended to be a 14-year-old boy using a fake Snapchat profile with the name 'Jamie_jones6968' to send hundreds of explicit messages to girls, persuading some to send sexual images in return. Passing sentence, Judge Simon Berkson told the defendant he represented a 'significant risk' to children. Judge Berkson said: 'It is, of course, every parent's worst nightmare, this sort of thing happening to their children. 'Many of the offences involve sexual communication, some involving inciting children to engage in sexual activity. This was well planned and sophisticated criminal behaviour. 'You clearly have a sexual interest from the sexual abuse of children and gain sexual gratification from it.' Clark, formerly of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had admitted at earlier hearing to 29 offences; one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16, one count of making 26 indecent images of children of Category A, one of making 29 indecent images of children of Category B and one of making 81 indecent images of children of Category C.
ITV News
4 days ago
- ITV News
French teacher who posed as boy online to ask girls as young as 10 to send sexual images jailed
A French teacher who posed online as a boy to entice girls as young as 10 to send sexual images of themselves has been jailed for eight years. Simon Clark, used a fake Snapchat profile to pretend to be a 14-year-old boy under the name "Jamie_jones6968' to send hundreds of explicit messages to girl, persuading some to send the images in return. The head of department at the Alun High School, in Mold, North Wales, preyed on 26 youngsters, aged between 10 and 15, Chester Crown Court heard. The 46-year-old, a father of two, whose wife has since divorced him and his career ended, has 'lost everything', the court heard. Passing sentence, Judge Simon Berkson told the defendant he represented a 'significant risk' to children. Judge Berkson said: 'It is, of course, every parent's worst nightmare, this sort of thing happening to their children. 'Many of the offences involve sexual communication, some involving inciting children to engage in sexual activity. This was well planned and sophisticated criminal behaviour. 'You clearly have a sexual interest from the sexual abuse of children and gain sexual gratification from it.' Clark kept his head bowed as he was jailed. In addition to his custodial sentence, Clark will be on licence from jail for four years and has also been added to the sex offenders' register for life and handed restraining orders preventing him from contacting the victims. Clark, formerly of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had admitted at earlier hearing to 29 offences. One count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity. Two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. Two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16. Making 26 indecent images of children of Category A. Make 29 indecent images of children of Category B. Make 81 indecent images of children of Category C. Earlier, John Philpotts, prosecuting, told the court Clark's activities were only discovered by chance by one mother, 'looking over the shoulder' of one girl. The mother called police, on 24 January 2023, after discovering her 12-year-old daughter had received sexually explicit messages on Snapchat from the 'Jamie Jones' account. The mother only found out as her daughter had been 'grounded' for a separate matter and had her phone confiscated so was using a laptop her mother had access to. In May 2023, police traced the 'Jamie Jones' account to Clark's home address, discovering he was a father of two children. Clark was arrested at the school where he worked. Investigation of four devices seized from his home revealed chat logs of hundreds of sexually explicit communications with a large number of other young girls along with explicit videos, going back nine months. Mr Philpotts said some examples of the messages Clark sent included, to a 12-year-old girl: 'You look cute and filthy' before asking about her 'kink'. Clark initially denied any wrongdoing but admitted all the offences at an earlier hearing. Jeremy Rawson, mitigating for Clark, said his wife had divorced him and he only has limited contact with his children and other family had disowned him. Mr Rawson added: 'He is a man who is educated, a teacher, a professional, worked in the education system for 20 years, all of that is lost. 'He has lost everything as a result of what he has done. There is a black side to his character. 'There are no winners in this case whatsoever.' In a statement, Detective Constable Louise Murphy and Detective Constable Megan Griffiths, from Cheshire Police, who led the investigation, said: 'Firstly, we would like to praise the victims in this case for the bravery and courage that they have shown throughout this investigation. 'Clark was a teacher, he held a position of trust, and the messages we recovered clearly showed that he was well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16, but despite this he continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires. 'It was apparent throughout the investigation that Clark is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls, with no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families. 'While they will never be able to forget what he did, we hope the sentence handed to Clark will provide the victims with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.' An NSPCC spokesperson said: 'As a teacher Clark had a duty to keep children safe. Instead for seven years he posed as a teenage boy on a social media platform, using his fake profile to target and groom young girls before persuading them to send naked images of themselves. 'This kind of sexual abuse can have a devasting impact on the victims and it is vital all the children involved in this case have access to the support they need to move forwards with their lives. 'This case also highlights the need for social media sites to be doing much more to protect children and prevent offenders like Clark from using their platforms to carry out their crimes.'
