Laptop porn error lands two-year reprimand

Teacher who accidentally showed puplis pornography has been given a two-year reprimand.
9th July 2010, 1:00am

A General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) disciplinary panel heard that James Cooney showed a film containing “inappropriate material” to his class at Sandfields Comprehensive in Port Talbot.

Mr Cooney was using his personal laptop to project an educational DVD in class when “adult pornographic images” appeared on the screen and were seen by pupils.

He later resigned from the school but did not face criminal charges as it was decided that he had not broken the law.

However, the GTCW committee decided that Mr Cooney’s behaviour fell short of that expected from a registered teacher and found him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct during a private hearing in Cardiff last week.

He was given a reprimand, which will stay on record for two years.

Speaking after the hearing Aled Evans, Neath Port Talbot’s head of schools, noted the GTCW’s judgment and confirmed that Mr Cooney was no longer employed at any school in the county.

  • Original headline: Laptop porn error lands teacher two-year reprimand