New Delhi: A former teacher at a primary school in the UK, which was attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte, has admitted to committing child sexual abuse in India.
Matthew Smith, the accused, has confessed to paying over Rs 67,000 lakhs to two teenagers in India for a period of five years in exchange for sexually explicit images.
He allegedly instructed young men to perform sexual acts on boys and would subsequently request them to send him the recorded videos.
34-year-old Smith worked as a teacher for Thomas’s Battersea school in London, previously attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the grandchildren of King Charles.
Prior to his employment at the school, Smith was in Nepal. Upon relocating to the UK in 2022, he joined the school as a primary teacher and was then promoted to deputy head. Following his arrest, he was fired from his position.
This is not the first time Smith has been charged with sexual abuse of minors. Before Nepal, he spent time working in NGOs and orphanages in India between 2007 and 2014. He is said to have come into contact with accomplices who helped him in his sexual abuse activities, even as he moved back to the UK.
According to prosecutors at the Southwark Crown Court, where he appeared, Smith was discovered to possess over 100,000 images and videos depicting sexual abuse on his devices.
Prosecutors alleged that he would manipulate and groom young Indian teenagers under his influence, instructing them in performing sexual acts and recording them. Authorities apprehended him after discovering that he was sharing videos of child sexual abuse online.
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