Primary school parents are horrified that registered paedophile jailed for having sex with 14-year-old girl in drugs den is allowed to make regular visits to school and filmed a sports day
- Convicted paedophile Rhys Beaumont was free to attend pick ups and drop offs
- He was also able to attend a sports day, as a father at Griffin Primary School
- There were no restrictions on him entering a school after his conviction in 2017
- He was jailed for three years for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a drugs den
Parents at a primary school in Hull have been left furious after a registered child sex offender was allowed to make regular visits to the school playground and attended a sports day for his child.
Families with children at Griffin Primary School in East Hull have protested to the school over the presence of convicted paedophile Rhys Beaumont.
Beaumont, who is on the sex offender’s register for life, was jailed for three years for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a drugs den. He had admitted two offences of sexual activity with a child.
But after Beaumont’s conviction in 2017 there were no restrictions on him entering a school, so he was free to attend pick ups and drop offs, as well as school events as a father at the primary school.
Many parents were ‘disgusted’ to find out that a man with a conviction for having sex with a child is allowed on a playground, and other parents still do not know.
Families with children at Griffin Primary School in East Hull have protested to the school over the presence of convicted paedophile Rhys Beaumont. Pictured, Beaumont arriving at Hull Crown Court in 2017
East Hull MP Karl Turner confirmed he had been contacted by concerned parents and said he believed the convicted sex offender should be banned by the school from entering grounds.
It is understood after the MP’s intervention the school had placed a number of ‘restrictions’ on Beaumont’s access.
The school and Hull City Council have also confirmed they have investigated the case as a ‘safeguarding issue’.
When he was sentenced in 2017, Hull Crown Court heard that Beaumont, then 27, met the young girl in the street, and after buying her cigarettes ‘called her nice names and told her he loved her’.
He then had unprotected sex with the girl three times and told her he ‘would look after any child until she was 16’.
Judge David Tremberg told him: ‘In my judgement, this offending is so serious that only and immediate custodial sentence is appropriate for it.
‘You risked her becoming pregnant, you risked infection. You have no cognitive deficiencies. This was repeated offending.
‘The key message the court has to send out is, if you’re an adult and you take advantage of a child in this way, then you are going to get locked up, I’m afraid.’
It is understood that parents at Griffin have been aware of Beaumont’s history for some time, and had become increasingly alarmed that someone on the sex offenders register had open access to school grounds.
East Hull MP Karl Turner confirmed he had been contacted by concerned parents and said he believed the convicted sex offender should be banned by the school from entering grounds
A concerned parent, with a young daughter at the school, said: ‘I’ve known since April about this man’s sex offending history and the school is fully aware as well.
‘As a mother, I am absolutely sickened and disgusted that he is allowed near young children, especially when no parents were informed.
‘To me, there isn’t that much difference between a 14- and an 11 year-old girl so we feel as though our children aren’t being safeguarded.
‘Despite a lot of parents voicing their concerns, the school has not reassured us at all or acted on our concerns.
‘They told us that he has every legal right to be there, and even allowed him to film sports day like any other parent. School should be one of the safest spaces for kids and we, as parents, are putting our trust in teachers to protect them at all costs.’
Parents who know about Beaumont’s past also started a petition to ban him from school grounds and started a campaign to inform other parents of his crimes. A social media post has circulated and has been shared more than 60 times by outraged mothers and fathers.
The Griffin Primary mother continued: ‘If this is happening at our school, it raises the question of how many other schools have paedophiles allowed in the playground as well.
‘The laws need to become stricter to make sure people are informed of when a sex offender is around their kids.
‘It is absolutely not the fault of the child and they shouldn’t be punished for his actions but can you imagine sending your child over to play at a sex offender’s house and be none the wiser?
‘I have constant anxiety that something could happen and I am considering removing my child from the school.’
Griffin Primary School is part of Venn Academy Trust. A spokesperson from the trust said: ‘Safeguarding is always a high priority at Griffin Primary School.
‘We work in partnership with the Local Authority and their safeguarding team, the police and other outside agencies. I want to reassure you that whenever we are made aware of any concerns, we always take advice from these agencies and put steps in place to ensure that we are keeping pupils safe.’
A concerned parent, with a young daughter at the school (pictured) called for stricter laws that would make ‘sure people are informed of when a sex offender is around their kids’
A spokesperson for Hull City Council said that its safeguarding tam has provided advice to Griffin Primary School to conduct risk assessments and ensure appropriate actions are in place.
‘Safeguarding of children is our top priority, and we will continue to work with the school,’ they added.
It is understood that the school has now restricted Beaumont’s access.
East Hull MP, Mr Turner praised Griffin Primary but said action had to be taken in response to parents’ concerns.
‘Safeguarding our children is of paramount importance to me and my constituents that have children in schools in the constituency,’ he said.
‘I was recently contacted by a large number of concerned parents about an issue at the school that they thought was a safeguarding issue. They had attempted to resolve the issue but to no avail.
‘I am delighted to say that after my intervention, the matter is now resolved hopefully to the complete satisfaction of parents of Griffin Primary School.
‘I would like to thank again the perseverance of parents that came to me and the school for bringing a common sense resolution to this matter.’
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