Gareth Mellor, a 45-year-old former assistant headteacher, has been permanently banned from teaching after being convicted of possessing more than 11,500 indecent images and videos of children. Mellor, who worked at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, admitted to two counts of making indecent images and one count of possessing indecent photographs during a court hearing in December 2023.
At Leeds Crown Court, Mellor was sentenced to two years in prison, though the sentence was suspended for two years. His offenses, which occurred between 2014 and 2021, did not involve any of his students.
Following a hearing by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) last month, it was decided that Mellor would be banned from ever teaching again. Despite his teaching career ending, none of his offenses were linked to his time at the school.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) provided the investigation into Mellor’s criminal activities, leading to his eventual conviction and permanent removal from the teaching profession.
