The former deputy headteacher at the London primary school attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte was convicted of paying tens of thousands of dollars for photos and videos of children being sexually abused.
Matthew Smith — who worked at the ritzy Thomas’s Preparatory School — was sentenced to 12 years in prison this week for paying more than $85,000 for sexual images of children as young as seven, according to the South West News Service.
The conviction of the 35-year-old former teacher left staff at the school “shocked and appalled beyond measure,” a school spokesperson said.
The $25,000-a-year school, located in Battersea, southwest London, said that Smith has not worked at the school since charges had been brought against him.
The spokesperson emphasized Smith’s brief tenure at the school — just around eight weeks.
“Mr. Smith’s employment at the school, which commenced in September 2022, was terminated with immediate effect when the school first learned of the charges against him in November,” the school said.
Hellbound and Down 