'Warped' teacher's sick campaign of sex abuse exposed after parent saw messages to daughter

A former teacher has pleaded guilty to almost 30 counts of sexual offences involving children. Simon Clark, from Ellesmere Court, pleaded guilty to a total of 29 offences at Chester Crown Court on Friday (March 18).

Clark, 46, had previously worked at a school in the North Wales area. He pleaded guilty to one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to charges of making indecent images of children.

Detectives investigating the case said Clark was "well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16 but continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires." Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here

The case against Clark, of no fixed abode, began in January, 2023, when police in North Wales were contacted by a concerned parent who reported that their teenage daughter had been receiving messages from an unknown man requesting naked images. Investigations led detectives to Clark, who was working as a teacher.

A number of devices were seized from his home in May, 2023, and officers found that Clark had been posing as a teenager using a snapchat account under the name ‘Jamie_jones6968’. Detectives recovered hundreds of messages, many of which were of a sexualised nature, to a large number of girls, at least 30 of whom were under the age of 16.

Officers found that Clark regularly requested for the girls to share indecent images of themselves. In addition, officers also recovered more than 100 category A, B and C indecent images of children from Clark’s devices.

At Chester Crown Court, Clark pleaded guilty to a total of 29 offences including:

• One count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
• Two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity.
• Two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity.
• 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16.
• Making 26 indecent images of children of Category A.
• Make 29 indecent images of children of Category B.
• Make 81 indecent images of children of Category C.

He has been released on conditional bail and is set to return to Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, April 9, to be sentenced.

Following his guilty plea, Detective Constable Louise Murphy and Detective Constable Megan Griffiths, who led the investigation, said: "Firstly, we would like to praise the victims in this case for the bravery and courage that they have shown throughout this investigation. Clark was a teacher, he held a position of trust, and the messages we recovered clearly showed that he was well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16, but despite this he continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires. It was apparent throughout the investigation that Clarke is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls, with no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families."