A TEACHER at a school once attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte is facing jail over child sex abuse offences.
Matthew Smith, 35, has admitted 22 charges after being arrested in November.
Matthew Smith, 35, has admitted 22 charges relating to the sexual abuse of children
He was deputy head of the school once attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte, though none of the charges relate to his time there
Smith, who became deputy head of pastoral care at Thomas’ prep school in Battersea, South London, last September, appeared at Southwark Crown Court today.
He admitted to encouraging the rape of children under 13 and arranging the sexual abuse of children, among other charges.
The disgraced teacher was also found with over 120,000 indecent images of children.
None of the charges related to the school, which the two young royals left when they relocated to Windsor with the Prince and Princess of Wales in August.
Instead, the sickening crimes involved the abuse of children in India over the internet between 2017 and 2022, which Smith admitted to paying and instructing teens to carry out.
At the time, he was working as a teacher in Nepal, which borders India to the north.
Chillingly, he also worked in orphanages across India for seven years.
He used the social media app Telegram to receive and share the disgusting images, involving children as young as seven.
Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) identified Smith through posts on the dark web.
At the time of his arrest, he was online asking a teen to abuse a child and film it in return for money.
Chat logs show that he told older boys how to carry out the foul acts, including by sending photos and videos to demonstrate.
He also advised them on how to befriend vulnerable children and gain their trust.
However, there is no evidence he abused any children based in Nepal or the UK.
Helen Dore, Senior Officer at the NCA, said: “Matthew Smith was a high-risk individual and we moved quickly to locate, arrest and remand him so he could no longer pose a threat to children.
“Ultimately, we were able to prove that he was a prolific offender who manipulated young men to sexually abuse children on his behalf, giving them detailed instructions and financial reward.
“While conducting his offending, Smith worked at a school in Nepal, then became a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care in the UK, so his offending is a deep betrayal of the trust placed in him.”
A spokesperson for the school declined to comment on the ongoing proceedings, but said: “The safety and wellbeing of our pupils is, and always will be, our top priority.”
