Locations
Banks Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR9
Description
A disgraced teacher sent pictures of his naked genitals to teenage girls and begged them for indecent photographs after targeting them online. Robert Collins, 39, was the head of art at Formby High School when he sent perverted messages to several young girls over a period of four years.
His offending was discovered in June 2023 when Collins sent online messages to what he believed was a 12-year-old girl. He told the youngster - who was really an undercover police officer - he was a teacher and asked her "what's the naughtiest thing you've done?". He also asked if she wanted to be in detention with him.
He repeatedly asked her to send him pictures of her body, telling her: "I'm only asking because I like you a lot." He also sent the "girl" a close-up picture of an erect penis and a man's torso along with the message: "Here's my d*** X".
Police then went to Collins' home in Banks Road, Southport, and his electronic devices were seized and examined. These revealed chat logs with three other teenage girls.
Jo Maxwell, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court today, said: "Sexual communications with the children and attempted communications were discovered on two phones and a laptop. The communications revealed the defendant had a sexual interest in children. He used different names for himself but always identified himself as a teacher."
The messages spanned a four-year period from August 2019 to May 2023. One girl, who was traced by police, confirmed she had chatted with Collins on Snapchat, Facetime and Omegle, a video chat website shut down in November 2023. Ms Maxwell said: "He told her he was in his early 20s. She said when she heard his voice over a phone call she could tell he wasn't a teenager. He sounded older and she was aware there must have been a disparity in their ages."
He told the girl he was moderating GCSE artwork and offered to help her with her own GCSEs. He also sent her a picture of his penis and asked her to send pictures of her own body in return which she refused to do.
Ms Maxwell said: "He would tell the girl that he loved her and they had a future together and that he wanted to be in a relationship with her. She informed the officer she didn't want to be in a relationship with Collins. There was a disparity in age. She didn't trust him and she thought it was weird that he would send sexually explicit images to her."
Another girl was just 13 when she was contacted on social media by Collins who asked her: "What are those t**s like?" The girl sent a photo and he replied: "Any of them out?". He asked her what her body was like, asked for more pictures and if she would be willing to meet.
Other perverted messages were sent to what Collins believed to be a 15-year-old girl though police were unable to trace her and so it was not known if she was a real teenager or a decoy by online paedophile hunters. Also found on his devices were four category C indecent images of girls.
Collins, who has no previous convictions, initially denied the offences. But he later confessed, telling police: "I was not targeting a particular aged female. It was scattergun." He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual communications with a child, four counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of possession of indecent images of children (category C).
Emma Kehoe, defending, said: "Anything that I say on behalf of Mr Collins is not an excuse for what he did and he wants to make that perfectly clear through me, because he is embarrassed, devastated about what he did. But there are explanations in relation to why he offended... It's a background that goes some way to explain why this teacher, who had been respected and well liked over the 11 years that he worked, found himself communicating with young women online in the way that he did.
"Collins found himself at home during 2020 lockdown unable to properly carry out his job, that he had carried out well and was well respected for, and he felt frustration because of that, because he cared very much about his students and he loved his job as an art teacher. Incarcerated at home, unable to teach properly during lockdown, he found it very difficult.
"He was teaching online, which was why he found himself in front of the computer for hours on end, and that led to him using it not just in his professional capacity but in the way which brought about the offending. He has been diagnosed with a number of mental health issues including autism and through that diagnosis came an understanding of himself and why he acted the way he did, not just then but in other ways in his life, because in many ways he couldn't understand why he felt different from others.
"He wants to apologise through me. He wants to reiterate he is embarrassed and ashamed, not only for himself but for his family and for his school and past students."
She said Collins had made significant efforts to rehabilitate himself since his arrest, undergoing therapy and completing a number of sex offender courses including a Safer Lives course and the Stop It Now rehabilitation programme. He had also completed volunteer work for food banks and the mental health charity MIND.
Sentencing Collins, judge David Potter accepted his mitigation, saying: "I have no doubt that you are truly remorseful for your offending and I have no doubt you have placed great stock in your rehabilitation, such as I'm satisfied there's a low risk of your reoffending."
But he added: "Despite your remorse, what must be remembered is time and again you made contact with children under 16, time and again you solicited pictures of their bodies and on two occasions you sent pictures of an erect penis to them. In such circumstances a custodial sentence is required." He sentenced Collins to a total of two years and six months in prison.
Mr Alex Wood, Headteacher at Formby High School, said: “We were absolutely appalled to learn of these shocking offences. While the offences are in no way connected to Mr Collins’ work at Formby High School, the severity of their nature meant he was immediately suspended from all duties following his arrest and subsequently dismissed.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students will always be our highest priority and we have robust safeguarding policies in place to ensure their protection.
“We have fully co-operated with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and Merseyside Police throughout the investigation and thank them for their diligent work in bringing this individual to account.”