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'Human depravity really knows no depths': Teacher who filmed herself raping schoolgirl banned from teaching

'Human depravity really knows no depths': Teacher who filmed herself raping schoolgirl banned from teaching

Julie Morris

Trigger warning: Some readers may find the details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.

A former UK teacher who is in jail for raping a child while working as the deputy head at a primary school has now been banned from ever teaching again.

44-year-old Julie Morris was imprisoned for filming the abuse as she and her boyfriend David Morris, 52, raped a schoolgirl aged 13.

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As per a Metro UK report, the duo made their "graphic and depraved" plans a "sordid" reality.

Locked up

Julie Morris was locked up in December 2021 after admitting to 18 sex offences unrelated to her job as the 'safeguarding lead' at St George’s Central Primary School in Tyldesley, near Wigan.

Her partner, David Morris, a mechanic, was jailed for 16 years, with an additional four-year extended licence period, for a total of 34 offences. These include seven counts of rape and 13 counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Judge Andrew Menary, while sentencing the pair, had expressed shock, stating: "Every now and again you see cases, the circumstances of which are almost beyond belief."

"This is one of those cases. It demonstrates that human depravity really knows no depths."

Following this, her case was transferred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), which deals with cases of misconduct.

A three-person panel of the TRA concluded that the former teacher's actions were "fundamentally incompatible with her being a teacher."

"Her conduct ran counter to what should be at the very core of the practice of a teacher with a duty of care towards children," stated a report detailing the panel's findings.

The panel was of the opinion that Morris' actions in committing the rape and abuse "would undoubtedly affect public confidence in the teaching profession, particularly given the influence that teachers may have on pupils, parents, and others in the community".

It added that the fact she was also the safeguarding lead at the school "makes her offending all the more shocking in that, whilst the designated point of contact for welfare and safety concerns at the School, she herself was engaged in abusing a child, albeit not one at the school."

The panel also found that Morris' offences were "deliberate and sustained" and were not committed "under duress".

Concluding that there was a "real risk" of Morris repeating her offences, they banned her from teaching indefinitely on February 27.

This, as per the report, means that the now 46-year-old is barred from teaching in schools, sixth-form colleges, youth accommodations or children’s homes.

How was the couple caught?

The couple's 'sordid secret' came to light when police found a conversation about the sexual abuse of children on David's phone. The phone, which was seized during a search warrant, also had video recordings of rape and sexual abuse.

In one video, Julie Morriseven filmed herself laughing as she abused a child she claimed was a willing participant.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Moohita Kaur Garg

Moohita Kaur Garg is a journalist and Senior Sub-Editor at WION News, specialising in the volatile intersections of global security, defense technology, and South Asian geopolitics...Read More