Rochdale teacher receives suspended sentence for child cruelty

Photo: Google, Digital Globe

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court

A teacher at a Rochdale school has been handed a suspended custodial sentence for two counts of assault and child cruelty inflicted on two nine-year-old pupils.

The teacher – who cannot be identified due to reporting restrictions – appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on 21 June where they were sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Reporting restrictions are in place, meaning that both the school and the teacher in question cannot be identified as this could lead to identification of the children, who are entitled to anonymity under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

The teacher was also ordered to pay costs of £3,500 and complete 210 hours of community service, plus 10 days of rehabilitation.

The teacher first appeared at court in September 2020 where they were charged with three counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 dating to February that year. CCTV footage of the incidents was played at the sentence hearing.

In May, the teacher pleaded guilty to two counts of being a person over the age of 16 years old and having responsibility for two boys under that age, wilfully assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed the children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

Rochdale Online asked the council whether any disciplinary action had been taken against the teacher; this was the response: "The school has taken appropriate action at each stage and they continue to follow their procedures in relation to this matter."