Former Bearsted headteacher spared prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault

A former school principal abused a teenage girl and then told her not to tell anyone because “everything would go wrong”.

Anil Gaind attempted to blame the boy for what was described as a “glamorous fall” and later denied his claim about how long the inappropriate touching lasted.

But at the 61-year-old Bearsted resident’s sentencing last week (November 13), a judge told her that regardless of the length of time, she “lost her innocence” at his hands that night.

Gaind, of Button Lane, later pleaded guilty to sexual assault. The crime had nothing to do with his role as a teacher.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the pedophile touched the girl inappropriately through her clothes.

But in ruling he could avoid prison, Judge Julian Smith highlighted the “wicked and chilling” aspects of the abuse, which was reported in March last year.

He told Gaind that his crooked behavior “put an end to your good name and good character.”

Describing his previous career as “impressive and successful”, the judge added: “This represents a spectacular fall from grace and a life-changing loss of confidence and certainty for your victim.

“I think you understand the consequence (of what you did), but I don’t think you understand the why, and there’s a lot that needs to be done for you and for you before you can come to an understanding.

“There is always a concern that you will remain a risk until you understand what is driving you to behave in this terrible way.”

Judge Smith continued about the crime itself: “You gave her a massage. But it continued and escalated into something much worse.”

“You say it didn’t last as long as you thought it would, but that doesn’t matter. Whether it was 20 minutes, five minutes or half an hour, that loss of innocence and loss of trust happened that night.

“He froze and said, in a frankly creepy way, that he was ‘letting you finish.’ He told you it was wrong and that he was going to tell his mother.”

“You asked him not to do it because you said ‘anything goes wrong.’ You are putting the blame on him for what you did and the consequences of your actions.

“It was never his fault. None of this could be his fault. It was yours.”

The court heard Gaind denied having any sexual attraction to children following his arrest.

His teaching career, which he reportedly dreamed of for a long time and which he pursued in his 40s, ended due to health problems.

Referring to the significant impact the abuse had on his victim, Judge Smith told Gaind it must have been “a matter of profound shame” for him.

However, he explained that there was no need for him to be detained immediately, given his background and character, as well as the assistance the probation service could offer him rather than spending a short time behind bars.

Imposing a sentence of 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with requirements for a sex offender treatment programme, 30 rehabilitation activities and 180 hours of unpaid work, Judge Smith concluded: “I’m sure we’ll never see you in this court again.”

Gain will be banned from working with children and vulnerable adults indefinitely and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order as well as sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.