Birmingham teacher sexually abused teenage pupils at school and groomed them on Snapchat

A maths teacher has been jailed after sexually assaulting three teenage girls, including at a Birmingham school. 

Taimoor Muhammad was sentenced to three years in prison for committing the "grossest breach of trust".

Birmingham Crown Court heard the abuse took place over a three-month period. 

During that time he set up an online group Snapchat so he could "sexually communicate" with them.

Matthew Barnes, prosecuting, said: "In each case, the girls were all 16, some just 16.

"The prosecution case is that the defendant groomed and sexually assaulted these three pupils both on and away from the school premises."

Teacher would ask teenagers for nude images over Snapchat

He said the teacher "groomed by offering them the opportunity to truant from lessons and spend time with him in his classroom, allowing them to use their mobile phones, use vapes and giving them treats like chocolates and doughnuts.

"It involved the establishment of an online Snapchat group which Muhammad used to sexually communicate with the girls by asking for nude images."

Mr Barnes said Muhammad would also send intimate pictures of himself and talk about sexual matters. He said the sexual assaults were over clothes and included grabbing breasts and touching their upper thighs.

The victims eventually reported the incidents, he said. "The offences came to light when the three girls complained to a teacher who reported it to the head on May 9 this year," Mr Barnes said.

Teacher tried to unzip victim's top on more than one occasion, court hears

In interview, one victim said that the defendant would compliment the girls on their appearance and ask for - and give them - hugs in the classroom, away from CCTV. He would also tell them they were sexy and beautiful and grabbed one on the bottom and asked her if she was ticklish.

The victim said that Muhammad would also come up behind her and grab her by the waist.

A meeting had taken place at Redditch train station and they had also sat together in his car and had tried to unzip her top on more than one occasion.

The girl said that the defendant told them he trusted them and that "his life was in their hands" and that she was shocked and scared by his behaviour. On a third occasion, he had picked her and another girl up and taken them to a deserted car park in Longbridge, where he had unzipped her top but she had zipped it back up again.

Another victim said Muhammad had hugged her, slapped her bottom and tried to put his hand inside her top. He had asked her for a nude picture and she had sent him a photo of her chest, wearing a bra.

He had also waited for her outside the girl's toilets and picked up a ruler and ran it up her leg.

While a third victim said that the defendant had touched her breasts while re-fixing a sticker on her chest. She said he would "pretend to cry if she rejected him," and had also slapped her face playfully.

In a statement, one victim said as a result of the offences she had suffered anxiety and had moved away from the area of the school. It also caused her sleep problems and affected her GCSE performance.

Muhammad, 29, of Richmond Road, Yardley, had previously admitted 11 charges of sexual assault. He was jailed for three years.

In passing sentence, Judge Roderick Henderson said: "You are a teacher and you groomed them for three months. This offending was repeated and, of course, it was not impulsive in the sense of somebody losing their self-control.

"It was the grossest breach of trust and it was at a significant time for these girls as it led up to their exams that are critical for the rest of their lives."

The judge added that it had also led to the victims receiving "poisonous" comments on social media and that those responsible for that should be ashamed of themselves.

Tahir Khan KC, defending, said Muhammad had expressed regret and remorse for what he had done. "He was of previous good character and that has now gone as has his profession."

He added: "It is totally out of character with how he ordinarily conducts his life. This was an aberration on his part."

A spokesperson for Snapchat has told ITV News Central: "Any abuse of children is abhorrent and illegal, and the use of Snapchat to send sexually explicit content is strictly against our rules.

"We take the safety of minors incredibly seriously and have teams dedicated to this, who work closely with the authorities, experts and industry partners to combat it."