TRAA music tutor has been banned from teaching indefinitely after he was caught sending sexual messages to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl but was in fact a police officer.
Lawrence Levin, 70, worked with Roundhay Music, in Leeds, which provides tutoring to the local community, at the time of the offence in 2019.
He subsequently received a criminal conviction, according to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel who found him guilty of misconduct.
A spokesperson for Roundhay Music said Levin’s work was “ceased immediately”, with the offending not connected to music tuition.
A TRA misconduct hearing was told Levin was arrested after engaging in an online chat with an undercover police officer who was posing as a teenage girl in January 2019.
According to the panel, in April 2021 he was convicted and ordered to carry out community service.
He was also placed on the the sex offenders’ register and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.
Before his conviction, Levin had been a self-employed tutor at not-for-profit organisation Roundhay Music.
A spokesperson for Roundhay Music said: “The offence that Mr Levin committed was an online offence and was not connected in any way with the self-employed tuition work that he undertook under our contract we had with a local school.
“Mr Levin complied with safeguarding guidelines and had an up-to-date enhanced DBS disclosure at the time.
“As soon as Roundhay Music was made aware of his offence, his work with us ceased immediately.”
In their conclusion, published this week, the TRA noted Levin had shown “a degree of insight and remorse”, having told the panel that he was “grateful” no real child had been harmed by him.
Sarah Buxcey, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, banned Levin from teaching indefinitely.
Ms Buxcey said his offending had been so serious, he would not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.
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