Locations
St Alban's Road, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, FY8
Description
A former Shetland primary school teacher has been jailed for 30 months after molesting six of his pupils in their classroom more than a decade ago.
Stephen Tait was also added to the sex offenders register for life following a trial that convicted the 41-year-old of six charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour.
Today, Sheriff Ian Wallace described his offending at Bell’s Brae Primary School in Lerwick as “ongoing, planned behaviour against children”.
He told the serial sex offender: “It was made more serious in that it was committed by you, a teacher, against young children who were in your care.
“It was a serious breach of trust and the seriousness of it and the potential harm caused would have been obvious to you.
“The evidence against you was clear and compelling and the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.”
‘Actions like yours also harm the teaching profession’
Sheriff Wallace found Tait’s victims, who gave evidence against him, “to be admirably robust” and who have managed to “continue with their lives”.
“Their responses to your offending during evidence was measures,” he said, adding: “Nevertheless, your actions will continue to have an impact on them.”
Sheriff Wallace continued: “Actions like yours also harm the teaching profession and offending like yours impacts those who work in that profession, children who attend school and parents who send their children to school.
“I’m satisfied that a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Sheriff Wallace sentenced Tait, of St Albans Road, Lytham, St Annes, to 30 months imprisonment and placed him on the sex offenders register for life.