Greater Manchester teacher who groomed teenage girl banned from the classroom

A Greater Manchester teacher who groomed and manipulated a teenage girl into sexual activity has been banned from the classroom by a tribunal.

A panel at the Teaching Regulatory Agency found Kim Connor, who is 48, had been convicted in court of multiple counts of sexual activity and inciting sex with a teenager aged between 13 and 17, and that these offences also constituted abuse of a position of trust.

The panel concluded that Connor should be barred from returning to teaching and did not put a time limit on when this could be reviewed.

What did the panel find when it considered Connor’s case?

The panel found that Connor had been convicted in the courts of four offences of sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17 whom she did not believe to be over the age of 18 and two offences of causing or inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17 where she did not believe the victim was over 18. Connor also admitted that she was sentenced to nine months in prison to run concurrently for the offences, which took place over a period of months in 2004.

The panel also found that Connor had been placed on the sexual offenders register for 10 years when she was convicted at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester in July 2020. She had originally denied the offences but been found guilty at a trial and sentenced.

The panel said it considered sentencing remarks by the judge which stated: “These were not isolated incidents. [the victim] was groomed and manipulated.” The hearing concluded Connor’s actions were “calculated and motivated”.

What did the panel conclude and why?

The panel found that Connor had seriously breached the standards expected of teachers, saying her behaviour could have impacted on the safety or security of pupils and could damage the public perception of the teaching profession. It concluded that the seriousness of the offences, which included abuses of trust and sexual activity, meant that she should be barred from teaching. In addition the panel found that Connor had not shown remorse for her actions and therefore posed a continuing risk should she be allowed back in the classroom.

The panel also decided that as serious sexual misconduct had been proved against Connor it would not be appropriate for her prohibition against continuing to teach to be given a time limit before it could be reviewed.

That means that Connor is now prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She is not entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.

Connor was not present at the hearing where her profesionfate was decided.