A teacher at Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s former school has admitted a string of child sexual abuse offences.
Matthew Smith, 34, admitted five pleas relating to making and distributing indecent images of children.
It is understood that the charges do not relate to his employment at the £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school, in south London.
Smith was deputy head of pastoral at the school, and had previously worked at a school in Kathmandu, Nepal. for five years according to his LinkedIn profile.
He pleaded guilty to all five counts when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, including causing or inciting the sexual abuse of a child under 13, distributing Category A indecent images of children and three counts of making indecent images in categories A to C.
His south London home was raided by police on November 6 where he was arrested.
He is understood to have joined the school only recently, in September this year, and his role was immediately terminated when the school found out about the charges.
St Thomas’s Battersea prep school was attended by Prince William’s two eldest children until the end of the last academic year.
When their family moved out of Kensington Palace to a cottage on the grounds of the Windsor Castle estate, the children switched to Lambrook School near Ascot in Berkshire.
A spokesperson for St Thomas’s Battersea told MailOnline: ‘We have been shocked and distressed to learn of these charges. The safety and wellbeing of our pupils is, and always will be, our top priority.
‘As there are ongoing criminal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further at the this time other than to say that there is no suggestion the offences relate to Mr Smith’s employment at Thomas’s or to any current or former pupils.
‘As soon as the school learned of the charges, Mr Smith’s employment at the school, which commenced in September this year, was terminated with immediate effect.’
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers said the investigation into Smith remains live and there are early ‘indications of significant online offending and international lines of inquiry’.
Tony Cook, NCA Head of Child Sexual Abuse investigations, said: ‘These guilty pleas are a significant step in what is an ongoing, complex investigation.
‘Child sex abuse perpetrated online and across borders is a substantial threat to the UK, and the NCA is dedicated to investigating in these challenging spaces in order to safeguard children and pursue the highest risk offenders.’
Smith, of East Dulwich, will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on a date to be fixed.
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