Anthony Moses, 48, was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child after engaging in online chats with a police decoy posing as an underage boy
A deputy headteacher at a school in south Wales has been unmasked as a sex offender after being caught asking for “naughty pictures” online from someone he believed to be a 14-year-old boy.
Anthony Moses believed he was engaging in online chats with an underage boy on FabGuys – a dating app for gay men – but he was actually communicating with a police decoy account, Cardiff Crown Court heard earlier this week.
Moses, 48, is the deputy headteacher at Durand Primary School in Caldicot, Monmouthshire. The school has reached out to parents to alert them that they “may become aware of information in the public domain regarding our deputy headteacher”.
Moses was sentenced on Monday (April 13), receiving a six-month prison term suspended for 12 months. The school relayed its message to parents on the same day, reports Wales Online.
The school’s letter to parents states: “I can confirm this matter is not related to any child connected to the school or the local community.”,
“As a school, as soon as we were made aware of the concern we worked with our statutory partners, the local authority and police in line with our safeguarding procedures.
“Until this time we have not been able to share any updates due to this being a confidential matter involving a live police investigation and court process. Anthony Moses was not in work at the time of these concerns being raised due to a prior period of absence.”
Moses’ unlawful actions took place on a single day, November 20 in 2024. The deputy headteacher, from East Road, Oakfield, Cwmbran, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child but was convicted following a trial in February this year before being sentenced.
A spokesperson for Monmouthshire Council said: “As a council and school the safeguarding and wellbeing of our pupils is our main priority. The school and local authority will follow due process now that the criminal process has been concluded.”
During the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Moses had penned a “letter of remorse” to Judge Richard Kember. Judge Kember informed the defendant that he knew the “boy” was 14 years old.
He added: “You asked the decoy, ‘You got any naughty pictures?’ You sought and solicited images.” He told him he would avoid an immediate prison sentence because he believed there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.
Moses was instructed to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community and fulfil a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
He is also obliged to sign the sex offenders’ register for the next seven years and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.
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