Court hears how teacher sent messgaes from classroom to decoy teen who was undercover officer

Maths tutor Sukhwinder Singh believed the child he was messaging on Snapchat was a schoolgirl called Chloe and asked her for pictures and made a series of lewd comments to her.

But Newcastle Crown Court heard Chloe was a fake profile that had been set up by an undercover police officer.

Singh, 27, who was a teacher at a school in South Tyneside but whose career and relationship are now over, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw told the court: "Some of the communication took place while he was at school. Images of the classroom were sent although nobody else was present at the time.

"The defendant believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old called Chloe but in fact it was an undercover officer who had set up a profile on Snapchat.

"There was general chat about work, home life and interests and he confirmed he was a teacher. He was aware he was communicating with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

"When Chloe found out he was a teacher she asked if he would do her homework for her. He asked for pictures of her and when he didn't get them he said 'you're the one who wants their homework done'."

Singh also asked her to "show of her a***" and said he was going to go home to mark some papers and "have a ****". He also referred to what he thought was a child as "a bit of a s***" and asked for pictures of her body.

He also said "I bet you flirt with teachers" and said if he was her teacher "I bet you would be bending over so I could see up your skirt".

Singh also wrote "get your t*** out and give me a flash before I go".

Mr Wardlaw said: "Images of a classroom are being taken. There's almost certainly an element of fantasy going on."

He added: "Images were sent of him and his dog. He was communicating with her in the classroom and at home and on holiday. The images sent were not sexual.

"His occupation would bring about an element of trust had it been a real 13-year-old girl. It's aggravated by his employment."

Singh, 27, of Wansbeck Mews, South Shields, was sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

He must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years.

Read South Tyneside's news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day's news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

Sam Faulks, defending, said: "He has no previous convictions and he has already started attending therapy. He has lost his relationship with his partner, hehas been suspended from his employment and that employment will be closed to him at the conclusion of this case.

"He will never be able to perform in that sphere of employment again. He will lose the house on which he has a mortgage because he will not be able to afford it.

"He has lost his standing in the Sikh community, he is not welcome in very many parts of that community and is no longer able to attend the temple.

"The offending only lasted three weeks and stopped four days before his arrest and there's no sending of pictures of genitalia or a desire to meet up."