Kettering driving instructor jailed following investigation
Sentencing has taken place at Northampton Crown Court
A Kettering driving instructor who made inappropriate sexual comments to a female student and filmed others without their knowledge has been jailed following an investigation by Northamptonshire Police.
In April 2023, the Force received a report from a parent whose teenage daughter was having driving lessons from Adam Bagshaw, aged 57, raising concerns about sexualised comments he had made.
An investigation was launched, with Bagshaw arrested and his electronic devices seized, including his mobile phone.
When this was examined by the Force’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU), officers found five deleted videos in the trash folder, showing the legs and bottoms of teenage girls as they got out of Bagshaw’s car, including one taken underneath the skirt of an unsuspecting victim.
Painstaking examination of thousands of text messages and other data enabled the identification of this girl, who had no idea she had been a victim of upskirting until officers made contact with her.
Bagshaw, of Milldale Road, Kettering, went on to be charged with one count of sexual assault, one count of operating equipment beneath the clothing of another without consent, and one count of harassment without violence, relating to the sexual comments he had made.
Appearing before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on January 4, Bagshaw admitted the offences, and the case was committed to Northampton Crown Court for sentencing.
There, on February 22, Bagshaw was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, with the judge stressing the severity of his offending was exacerbated by him being in a position of trust as the victims’ driving instructor.
Bagshaw was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and will undergo one year of probation service supervision once he is released from prison.
Speaking afterwards, investigating officer PC Mark Walker, of CAIU North, said:
“When we received the initial report about Adam Bagshaw it was immediately concerning, as the remarks he had made to the then 17-year-old victim were really disgusting.
“The evidence we then found on his phone revealed further offences. I examined around 10,000 messages and other data to find a name that went with the time and date on the upskirting video, which enabled us to identify and contact the victim.
“Having to break the news to a teenage girl that her driving instructor had filmed her like this was awful and she was understandably deeply affected.
“Learning to drive is a life skill, and you rely on the person teaching you to do that properly and professionally, with a huge trust element also involved in getting in a car with that person.
“Both these young women have been extremely brave throughout our investigation and the court process. Bagshaw was someone they had trusted, and he took advantage of that for his own desires.
“I’m pleased he admitted his guilt and had sought counselling after recognising his behaviour was not normal. I am also very pleased these young women have received the justice they deserve with his imprisonment.
“In my opinion, Bagshaw’s behaviour was escalating and they put a stop to that by speaking up, and they can be very proud of that.”