Chemistry Teacher Groomed Pupil After Striking Up Relationship On Snapchat

Specialist abuse lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have raised concerns over the dangers children face online after a teacher was jailed for sending a schoolgirl nude photographs with a smiley face emoji covering his genitals.

Christoper Wood, 33, has been jailed for 15 months after he sent the girl images, which included a photo of himself having sex with a former partner.

A trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told that the former chemistry teacher had gained the girl’s trust by posing as a “cool young teacher” on Snapchat.

In December 2015 he sent the girl several pictures of him semi-naked and then fully exposed apart from an emoji sticker covering his genitals. In return she sent him a picture of herself topless, the jury was told.

Wood was convicted of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity whilst in a position of trust and causing a child to watch a sexual activity by a person in a position of trust.

A jury cleared him of a further charge of causing a child to watch a sexual activity by a person in a position of trust.

Wood was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
The charges relate to his time at a school in in Solihull, West Midlands.

Expert lawyer Raman Dhillon, of Irwin Mitchell, specialises in representing clients of abuse.

Expert Opinion

This shocking case highlights the dangers children face at the hands of those intent on using the internet or social media messaging services to groom their targets. Sadly it is often people in positions of power who become abusers and the people they target often feel powerless to prevent it.

“Educating people, and particularly vulnerable children, on how to stay safe online and the dangers to be aware of is vitally important. It’s also crucial that any survivors of abuse get the specialist help and support they need to overcome the trauma of what happened as it can often be life-changing.

“We call on social media companies to take note of this case and learn lessons from it to help reduce such cases of abuse in the future by adopting stricter policies.” Raman Dhillon - Solicitor