A FORMER Worcester teacher and scout leader has been jailed after arranging to meet a decoy child for sex.

Robert Howe, a former teacher at Tudor Grange Academy in Worcester, was sentenced to two years in prison when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court earlier this afternoon.

The bisexual 34-year-old geography teacher, who had been head of department, had believed he was chatting to a ‘cute’ 15-year-old boy following the breakdown of his marriage when in reality he was communicating with an undercover police officer (UCO).

Howe had already admitted attempted sexual communication with a child between April 13 and 21 this year and another of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence at an earlier hearing at Worcester Magistrates Court.

He developed cold feet and did not in the end meet with the 'child' on April 22.

RELATED STORIES

Caroline Harris, prosecuting, said Howe was caught because of Project Atari which is designed to identify those who commit sexual offences against children using undercover officers as decoys in online chatrooms.

Howe had an account with gay dating site Grindr before moving on to communicate with ‘the boy’ on WhatsApp, telling him ‘we can take it slow’ before discussing other sexual activity.

“The defendant asked ‘when do you want to meet?’ There were several references about the UCO finishing school and about where the two should meet” said Mrs Harris.

Eventually an arrangement was made for the decoy to meet Howe at his own flat.

Howe also asked for ‘selfies of the purported child’ and upon receiving one replied ‘cute’ before he asked to see more.

When the UCO asked the defendant what he was most looking forward to, Howe replied: “Touching you.”

However, the defendant blocked the decoy before any meeting could take place.

He was arrested on April 22 this year as he left work and his iPhone and other devices were seized.

Howe refused to give officers his pin number but the SIM card matched the WhatsApp number.

Until these offences he had been a man without previous convictions.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright jailed him for two years and made a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

This restricts Howe's contact with children of both sexes and his use of the internet and internet-enabled devices. As a sex offender, notification requirements now apply to Howe.

More on this case to follow.