A FORMER teacher and nursery worker has been jailed for 16 years after admitting to a series of serious sexual offences on children.
Appearing via video link at Birmingham Crown Court, Jamie Chapman, from Smiths Wood, Solihull, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing last month to 31 offences including raping a teenage boy, 21 counts of inciting sexual activity with children and nine counts of taking, making and distributing indecent photos of children.
On January 13, 2016 a report was made to West Midlands Police that there were images on the internet of a youngster performing a sexual act on a teenager. Following the report an investigation began and a string of offences were revealed dating back a decade.
The offences took place when Chapman worked at Audley Primary School between 2006 and 2008, Marsh Hill Primary from 2011 to 2012, St Edmund Campion School in 2013 and between 2011 and 2013 when Chapman coached a football team.
Chapman, aged 29, worked at a private nursery school in the Garretts Green area at the time of his arrest on 11 October last year.
He befriended the youngsters on social media posing as teenage girls, he gained their trust by sending naked pictures of young girls which he got from Google and in return the boys would send naked pictures of themselves. He then threatened many of the boys with further sharing their images across social media – on one occasion he also threatened to circulate the images if the boy didn’t perform a sex act.
Following his arrest, computer equipment was seized from his address. On the hard drive were 63 individual folders each contained images of a different male.
Chapman started work at the Garretts Green area from February 2014 however none of the victims are linked to the nursery.
Investigative lead Detective Chief Inspector Dawn Miskella said: “The boys genuinely thought they were talking to a real girl on the internet; Chapman was a calculated and manipulative individual who preyed on the very people he should have been protecting as a teaching assistant.
“Many of them lost their confidence and are embarrassed and angry at their experiences.
“We welcome today’s sentence and hope that this may start to give the victims and families some kind of closure and sense of justice.
“This case has highlighted the dangers children can face when online and the need for parents to intrusively supervise their child’s use of computers and mobile phones.”
Chapman received a custodial sentence of 16 years with an extended sentence of six years.
Parents and young people can get practical information on how to stay safe online at: www.thinkuknow.co.uk
