Teacher who admitted filming up pupils skirts escapes criminal prosecution
A teacher accused of filming up his pupils skirts for his own sexual gratification will not face any criminal proceedings. Andrew Corish, 60, fell short of being convicted because a court ruled his actions did not amount to a criminal offence.
Corish, from Caterham, Surrey, told the Evening Standard he apologized to the victims in a statement he gave to a professional misconduct panel on Monday.
The National College for Teaching and Leadership misconduct panel heard the teacher had admitted to using his phone “to film up the skirt of one or more pupils,” and that he stored “one or more inappropriate images taken up the skirts of pupils, including videos.”
The panel will later this month evaluate whether to recommend to the education secretary to either sanction or ban Corish from teaching.
Panel chair Professor Roger Woods ruled: “The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Mr Corish in relation to the facts found proven involved breaches of the teachers’ standards.”
The teacher had initially pleaded guilty to voyeurism at Croydon Crown court, but that was rejected as the offence of “observing a private act for sexual gratification” did not match the nature of the man’s actions. It was, in fact, concluded that no children had been filmed in a private act.
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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also failed to add the charge of taking and storing indecent images of children, as the judge ruled the images “were not of an indecent nature.”
The CPS therefore did not present any evidence, with Corish consequently being acquitted.
A spokesman for the school said: “When it was reported to the school we acted immediately in 2015 to suspend the teacher concerned and he then resigned with immediate effect.”
He said the school assisted the police and council investigation, reported the matter to the NCTL, and “strengthened our safeguarding procedures.”
