Brit-Indian teacher charged after ’sex with two pupils’

LONDON - A female teacher at an all-boys school in Britain has been charged with sex offences against two pupils.

Hina Patel, 37, a teacher at a Merseyside boy’s school, was working as a supply teacher when over a period of several weeks she allegedly engaged two boys, both 16, in sexual acts while at the school.

Patel was employed as a cover supervisor, filling short-term absences of teachers at Birkdale High School, Merseyside, which has 930 pupils aged 11 to 16.

She was immediately suspended from her position after the allegations emerged earlier this year, and she has been charged with sexual misconduct against the two pupils.

Birkdale High, a former secondary modern, has a reputation for academic and sporting excellence, and parents were shocked to learn about the offences against the two boys.

“I am absolutely speechless. With physical sports of all kinds there are all sorts of things a parent can worry about but this is one of the last things you’d expect,” the Daily Mail quoted a mother as saying.

“Lots of parents are horrified as it is the last thing you would expect from a good school like this one,” she stated.

The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are said to have been withdrawn from the school.

And Patel is to appear in court next month on two counts of abusing her position of trust by engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Headmaster Gary Loveridge said the school was fully co-operating with police in their investigations.

“We can’t say anything because there is no hard and fast information available. If we make any presumptions, it would be liable to wreck any police case,” he said.

A spokesman for Merseyside Police added: “We can confirm that Hina Patel has been charged with two counts of abusing her position of trust (as a school employee) by sexual activity with a child.” (ANI)