James Richards, who has been banned from working in schools in Wales for at least 14 years, is said to have left a number of women traumatised during his time as a teacher
A married headteacher has been removed from the register following incidents where he exposed himself to staff members. James Richards has been barred from employment in Welsh schools for a minimum of 14 years after a professional standards panel upheld all charges against him.
The panel was informed of his “predatory” and “sexualised” conduct and determined that Richards is prohibited from seeking reinstatement to the Education Workforce Council (EWC) Wales register until at least November 2040.
Richards, who previously served as headteacher at Cadle Primary in Swansea, left several women deeply distressed during his tenure at the school, the panel was told. The hearing established that during a school trip, Richards displayed his penis to a teacher, saying: “Inspect this miss.”
On another occasion, a staff member was summoned to his office to discover him positioned beside his desk with his trousers lowered and his erect penis exposed, according to WalesOnline.
Past and present employees recounted how he had instructed one colleague to visit his office where he sat with his penis visible and spectacles placed upon it, displayed explicit images from his mobile phone during a meeting, and separately shared footage of himself in a compromising position.
The women reported feeling “shocked”, “numb”, and “frightened” by these encounters.
They expressed disbelief that the apparently amiable headteacher would engage in such behaviour, particularly within the school environment, the tribunal heard. On occasions he seemed remorseful afterwards and was reported to have told one female staff member whilst exposing his penis: “I love my wife and children. I can’t help myself.”
To another he said: “You have seen too much of me,” after displaying images of his penis rather than a work presentation.
In total five women who worked alongside Richards detailed how he exposed himself to them, leaving them too frightened to report him.
A sixth described the IT equipment he had been given by the school and how Richards had failed to return one laptop as requested during an internal investigation. It was this laptop he was alleged to have used to display naked images of his genitals.
He seemed to have deliberately targeted staff members he suspected might not be willing or feel able to report his behaviour. The women told the panel how they had admired and respected the “jovial” and “approachable” headteacher.
He had been supportive to them and was popular within the school community. The women worried they wouldn’t be believed if they reported his actions and one said she felt vindicated in that belief when South Wales Police were notified but decided there was no criminal case to pursue in late 2021.
She expressed to the panel her disappointment with both the school and the police, and was deeply upset that Richards had been able to resign from his post during an internal investigation after his suspension in 2021. She felt silenced while the man who exposed himself to her and others “got away with it”.
All five women to whom Richards exposed himself appeared in person to provide evidence over three days of the virtual hearing from November 24 to 27.
Richards did not engage with the EWC process, was absent from the hearing, unrepresented, and did not respond to the allegations. As a result, all the allegations were taken as denied by the panel.
Panel chair Sue Davies detailed how Richards had refused to be interviewed for the school’s independent internal investigation in 2021. He had also claimed through his union that he was unable to be interviewed due to ill health affecting his cognitive and physical abilities.
A Swansea Council fraud team tracked Richards while he claimed to be ill and filmed him driving and going with a group of male friends to play golf. Footage shown to the hearing depicted the disgraced former head teacher striding across a golf course in apparent good health and taking swings with a golf club.
Ms Davies stated that while the witnesses had been clear and credible, Richards had been dishonest and had not engaged or responded to the investigations.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .
#Predatory #teacher #struck #inspect #colleague
