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'I can imagine you on the beach in a bikini': Head teacher convicted of sexual harassment earlier this year now accused of more historic inappropriate behaviour

K.Smith36 min ago
A head teacher who was convicted of sexual harassment earlier this year has been accused of more inappropriate behaviour by female staff members.

Gregory Hill, 49, was found guilty of harassing trainee teacher Chloe Regester, 25, for nearly a year while working at Howard Junior School in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

Hannah Gidman, 26, moved to the UK from Australia back in 2019 and took up a role at the school after recently qualifying as a teacher.

She told the BBC she experienced similar behaviour from Hill while working at the school, such as him telling her he had imagined her in a bikini.

The BBC has spoken to four other women, including Ms Gidman, who claimed they experienced similar behaviour from Hill when working at the school. He reportedly did not respond to the allegations.

Ms Gidman was 22 when she began working at the school and said problems started when she went out to dinner with colleagues and Hill complained he had not been invited.

She claimed Hill would make 'sexualising comments' towards her 'at least once a week' but did not complain over fears she would lose her job.

On one occasion he told her he imagined her on the beach in a bikini, which she said left her feeling 'icky' and 'uncomfortable'.

'I don't think anyone should have to go through what me and other people I worked with went through,' Ms Gidman told the BBC.

Ms Gidman now works as a teacher in Australia and spoke to the BBC because she believes the complaints system needs to change.

Other women who spoke to the broadcaster said they experienced inappropriate behaviour from Hill, claiming he would frequently make comments about their looks.

One woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the BBC 'my looks should have nothing to do with how I'm doing my job'.

None of these women were involved in Hills' conviction for harassment.

Hill, who won a local award for Inspirational Teacher of the Year in 2022, denied harassment and resisted arrest but was jailed for 20 weeks following a trial at Norwich Magistrates Court in August this year.

He contacted Ms Regester through Facebook and WhatsApp and even ordered her to go with him and pupils to Sandringham after the late Queen died, a court heard.

But when he found out the object of his attention was gay, he made withering remarks about her partner and belittled her dress sense, saying she had 'lesbian shoes'.

When Hill was arrested in the car park of his school he spent 30 minutes lying on the ground and wrestling with officers, who caught the 'bizarre' scene on bodyworn cameras.

Sentencing the disgraced educator, District Judge Christopher Williams said he had a 'chilling ignorance' of the power he held over staff at Howard Junior School in King's Lynn, Norfolk, which had led to his 'spectacular fall from grace'.

He added: 'Even now, you fail to realise how wrong your behaviour was.

'You abused the power you held, especially over young members of staff at the school. You are an obsessive individual.'

In a victim impact statement read out at the sentencing, Ms Regester described the messages she received as a 'constant drain' on her mentally and physically.

'He was always hounding me with messages and emails late at night,' she said.

'I started to struggle with sleeping and would have nightmares.

'I had concerns that Hill was aware of my movements and this led to a fear of seeing him when I was out and about.

'These last few years have completely changed me as a person and I do not know if I will ever return to the person I once was.'

Former special constable Hill yelled he was being assaulted by officers when he was arrested just before 9am on March 13 last year.

He also compared himself to George Floyd, who died in Minnesota in the US after a policeman put his knee on his neck for nearly ten minutes, shouting: 'I cannot breathe.'

A spokesperson for the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust (EMAT), which took over the school after Hills' arrest, said when the arrest took place it urgently reviewed safeguarding, complaints and whistleblowing procedures.

It said it was appalled by the allegations and commended the victim for their courage in bringing him to justice.

MailOnline has contacted Ms Gidman for comment.

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