Suffolk headteacher banned from profession after sending explicit messages to 'teenager'
He thought he was communicating with a 14-year-old but it was actually an undercover police officer
Last updated 18th Dec 2024
A former headteacher from Suffolk's been banned from teaching - after he was caught sending explicit messages to boys he believed to be underage.
Matthew Coombs, who worked at Hartest Church of England Primary School in Bury St Edmunds, was actually communicating with an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old on the dating app Grindr.
The 52-year-old was arrested after arranging to meet the fake teenager in February 2020.
He admitted the offence in court in 2022 and was given a two-year community order.
He was also made to sign onto the sex offenders' register for five years.
Now, following an investigation, the Teaching Regulation Agency's (TRA) told him he's been banned from teaching 'indefinitely', citing concerns Coombs could repeat his behaviour if allowed back to the profession.
The TRA's report went into more detail, explaining the panel that made the decision did not accept Coombs' account that he had been “naïve” and “incredibly stupid” in his actions.
They also refused his suggestion he was '"unaware that the individual was a child" and noted his comments "did not show a requisite level of appreciation for the severity of his offence or its impact on others."