Parents with children at St Clement and Le Rocquier schools and Highlands College have been contacted after Robert John Lupton-Le Masurier appeared in the Magistrate’s Court and admitted attempting to meet a boy of 13 following sexual grooming. They were not informed of the exact nature of the charge, only that he had been ‘convicted of a serious offence’.
The Education Department said that 41-year-old Lupton-Le Masurier, who had worked in local schools as a specialist teacher for deaf students for a number of years, had been removed from duty as soon as concerns were raised. Parents are now being advised to contact their child’s head teacher or the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, which brings together various agencies involved in child protection, if they have any concerns.
In a statement the department said: ‘Parents were informed that Robert Le Masurier, a British Sign Language tutor, pleaded guilty to a serious offence in the Magistrate’s Court.
‘Safeguarding is an absolute priority for all schools and we want to reassure parents that we have worked closely with the police since their investigation began and took immediate action to remove this tutor from schools once we were made aware of the concerns. He will not be returning.
‘We have spoken to parents and staff to offer support and will continue to do this. People who have concerns can contact their head teacher. They can also contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) directly on 519000 or email enquiries-MASH@gov.je.’
Lupton-Le Masurier – the latest online predator to be snared by vigilante Cheyenne O’Connor, who poses as youngsters on internet dating sites – admitted committing the offence between 10 and 15 January.
As part of his bail conditions he has been ordered not to be alone with any child under 16 and to keep the search history on any internet-enabled device he uses, which also must be surrendered to any policy officer who asks to see it.
Lupton-Le Masurier, who is deaf, was named Britain’s leading sign language teacher of the year in 2009 at an awards ceremony organised by the charity Signature, which promotes excellence in communication with deaf and blind people.
At the time he was described as working with all age groups and being the only qualified teacher of both level one and level two certificates for British Sign Language in the Island.
In 2014 he won the local title in the same category, being named Channel Islands Teacher of the Year.
