English teacher acting inappropriately in a foreign country.

[ohyesohno]

I've lived in the UK for most of my adult live but I am still very much involved with my home country, which is in Asia. I have recently come across a social media account of an English guy teaching English to kids in my home town. Putting aside that the guy should not be teaching grammar to anyone as he can barely write himself, in many photos he is very close to children, mainly young girls, touching and hugging them, which would be considered completely inappropriate in the local culture. A recent photo made it to the social media account of an activist working with victims of sexual violence. The picture was too upsetting to post it, but suffice to say it would raise more than a few eyebrows here in the UK. In response, the 'teacher' has recorded a defiant message calling out 'disgusting behaviour of disgusting people' and threatened the activist with his lawyers - the video and the photo have since been deleted.
There is no way he would behave like this here in the UK. He is taking advantage of the fact that in my country people are more trusting, less aware of sexual predators and the regulations are not as strict. The role of a 'cool foreigner' allows him to do things that they would not accept from a local man of the same age. Being British he must be aware that what he is doing is inappropriate - and this is only judging from photos he posted online, god knows what happens in the classroom. Even giving him the full benefit of doubt, what he does is dangerous as he is teaching children not to respect boundaries or value their personal space etc.
We have already alerted the authorities back home and he will be investigated. I am slightly worried that they may not be able to do much in the absence of 'actual' crime and that parents are unlikely to complain in order to avoid unnecessary publicity for the kids. In any case, we are doing what we can.
AIBU to think that I should be able to do more? is there anything I can do in the UK to stop him from working with children in the future? Presumably, he can always move to another country and start again even if we succeed back home?

You can report it to the UK Police - they investigate child abuse abroad and there's been several high profile cases where arrests have been made abroad and men are now serving sentences in the UK.

Please contact the National Crime Agency and CEOP.

You're right to be concerned, trust your instincts.

One of the men was Simon Harris (Kenya), however there were also cases in Viet Nam, Phillipines and Thailand.

Unbelievable that the first poster didn’t think this was concerning or worth flagging in any way. Surely we are a bit more aware in this day and age?

Oh, who is his english qualification from - you can also contact them too. Some of them do take safeguarding very seriously.

This is a safeguarding concern, both in the country where he is and in the UK. Keeping Children Safe in Education requires that prospective employers seek references for periods that teachers have been abroad when recruiting.

It may be worth getting in touch with the teaching regulation agency to see if they will record a concern or investigate his record in the other country.

Yes, I was going to suggest CEOP.

There are some countries that just aren’t as alert to,this stuff (yet) and it draws the creeps like bloody moths to a flame.

I spent several months with charity workers in one such country (adults only charity, so no kids involved at any stage, and still there were white western males angling their way in, and sniffing round the more vulnerable women. So hard to stop it.

Contact CEOP or The NCA in England, they investigate overseas crimes regarding childrens safety worldwide.

*You can report it to the UK Police - they investigate child abuse abroad and there's been several high profile cases where arrests have been made abroad and men are now serving sentences in the UK.

Please contact the National Crime Agency and CEOP*

As I understand it from colleagues, an abuser’s guard is often down on different territory with easier access to children and they tend to accelerate their behaviour and/or reveal things that they have kept under wraps in the U.K. or other similar (strict) countries. So reporting this may lead to uncovering of previous behaviour in the U.K. and to other offenders (if your concerns are correct). As others have said, trust your instincts and report.

For anyone who thinks the OP should mind her own business, google Richard Huckle. He "hid in plain sight" for ages, working as an EFL teacher specifically to get access to children to abuse.

Urgh. This reminds me of the Richard Huckle case. He made use of his elevated status and the trusting nature of people in the communities he taught in (in Malaysia) to commit appalling crimes against children. He used to post pictures of himself abusing the children on the dark web, if I remember rightly, with his face disguised using computer software. Be very suspicious, OP. These jobs seem to attract some individuals whose intentions are less than benign.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

ScarMatty

Shut the fuck up! You clearly have no idea about how common this is!

You absolutely did the right thing OP. This is very common. They can't get away with it here but they often can and do abroad. Some people here should be bloody ashamed of themselves.

Hmmm, what an absolute delight you sound.

The people telling op to mind their own business are fucked in the head, you are doing the right thing op, we need people like you to look out for our children!

Hmmm, what an absolute delight you sound

Hmm. That's rich coming from someone who told the OP to find a better way to spend their time and who would happily let a pedophile get away with it..

You could also ask for advice at the consulate as well, they may be able to contact UK authorities

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

Hmmm, what an absolute delight you sound

Hmm. That's rich coming from someone who told the OP to find a better way to spend their time and who would happily let a pedophile get away with it..

Well I mean that is a slightly more civil response from you. Not that it'll change my view.

Not that it'll change my view

So you're still concerned about protecting child abusers?

I honestly cannot believe—in this day and age—there are people who honestly think we should “mind our own business” when it comes to potential child sex abuse. What a lovely attitude to have, and what care for innocent children.
I would pass what you know on to the police, they have specialist units who will know how best to deal with this. You said there was a distributing photo—what (in the vaguest terms) was in this, would it by itself constitute something the school could take action over?

I think the thing is there are some people who genuinely couldn't give a shit about what happens to children abroad...

They view them as lesser than British children as there's a huge attitude that as long as it's not happening on British soil, it's not our problem.

It's disgusting.

child protection is everyones business. I hope the friend is contacting, school, local authorities, british embassy and anyone else to alert them to what's going on. They can check if he is on the sex offenders register quite easily

I think the thing is there are some people who genuinely couldn't give a shit about what happens to children abroad.They view them as lesser than British children as there's a huge attitude that as long as it's not happening on British soil, it's not our problem.It's disgusting

Agreed. You're spot on there.

@ohyesohno which Asian country is this in? In Japan for example any tom, dick or harry can be employed as an 'English teacher' in a language school or anywhere other than an international school. So many people go out to Japan and end up 'teachers'. An International school is more likely to require a police certificate for good conduct. The British Council is a good place to begin.

@ScarMatty
Since you think the OP should be turning a blind eye to potential grooming and child abuse I don't suppose many people in this thread give a shiny shit about your opinion.

Or You're just here to be goady and derail. In which case, Why not watch telly instead eh? Save MN the job of having to check you out later. You surely can't be so dull and friendless that taunting strangers on the internet is actually fun for you surely?

Thank you for all the responses. Obviously, the guy is not daft enough to post anything criminal on the internet. On the photo he is depicted eating a pastry with a child, each biting from different sides, their mouths very close, hands off, cheeks touching, his arm on her shoulder. The child looks very uncomfortable. Difficult to explain, but everyone I showed the picture to, in Asia and in the UK, found it 'creepy', 'disturbing', 'inappropriate'. The problem is that the adult is breaking into child's personal space and eroding her natural defences. In our culture she would never do this with an unrelated adult, but his position as a 'cool foreign teacher' allows him to persuade her do so and then post the picture on the internet.
In another picture, he has his arms around a very young girl with a caption that they are studying 'body parts'.

This could be all completely innocent, but, when faced with criticism, the individual took a very aggressive position and threatened all commenters with legal action, which sounds very suspicious.

I am not sure there is enough here to go to police, but I don't think this person should teach...