Educator Permanently Barred Following Online Sexual Misconduct with Teenage Girls

An educator who committed multiple sexual offenses against two adolescent girls has been indefinitely prohibited from the profession. John Ewan Myles, 37, was employed as an English teacher at Ashby School in Leicestershire when these offenses occurred. He was incarcerated in December 2023 for a period of six and a half years after admitting guilt to 19 charges and was placed on the sex offenders register for life. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel on 2 December concluded that Myles had misused his position and neglected his duty of care towards a child. Myles had been working at the school since August 2012 and was suspended pending the outcome of a police investigation after his arrest in April 2022 at his residence on Ashburton Road, Hugglescote. Officers discovered multiple electronic devices concealed beneath his bed, as reported by Leicestershire Police. The force stated it received a report that Myles had been engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl he had encountered online. She was identified and informed officers that Myles first contacted her online, claiming his name was Jamie Reid and he was 18. Myles began transmitting sexual images of himself, and officers found evidence of numerous recorded video calls in which sexual activity was carried out between the two. Myles pleaded guilty to 12 child sex offenses in relation to the first victim and six further similar offenses in relation to a second victim. Police found Myles had contacted the other teenage girl online under the same alias, telling the victim he was 17. Myles pleaded guilty to a further charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image. A report from the misconduct hearing stated: “The panel finds that the conduct of Mr Myles fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.” The panel also noted that “Mr Myles appeared to show a complete disregard for the safeguarding of other children who may have been impacted by his behaviour.” The report highlighted that Myles’s “significant sentence” was indicative of the seriousness of his offending. While being sentenced at Leicester Crown Court, Myles was also issued a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years. The report added Myles had a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days from the date he was given notice of the order.