A teacher who sexually abused a young boy in Orpington 30 years ago has been banned from the profession. 

Chris Pearson, 45, was a music teacher and head of year at Cobham Free School in 2017 when a police investigation was launched into historical sexual abuse allegations. 

He was subsequently suspended from the school and lost his career as a teacher. 

Pearson had previously worked at Longfield Academy, Kent, and at Bacon’s College, Rotherhithe. 

In February 2022 a jury at Croydon Crown Court found him guilty of three counts of rape and one count of indecency with a child. 

The offences all took place in the 1990s against a 9-year-old boy when Pearson was a teenager. 

The Daily Mail reports that the abuse took place in Orpington. 

Pearson was jailed for seven years. 

On October 4, 2024, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) decided to ban Pearson from the profession indefinitely. 

A misconduct report states: “By the time of Mr Pearson’s conviction, he was a teacher. The panel noted that the individual’s actions were relevant to teaching, working with children and/or working in an education setting. 

“Whilst the offences for which Mr Pearson had been convicted did not take place whilst he was a teacher, they related to the rape of a pre-pubescent, school aged child on multiple occasions.” 

The panel also noted that Pearson’s behaviour was deliberate and involved a degree of planning.