A former teacher who posed as a teenage girl online to deceive two boys into sharing sexually explicit images has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mold Crown Court heard how the victims were left deeply affected by Daniel Fuge’s actions, which the judge described as a “twisted need for control.”
Fuge, 38, originally from Wrexham, had been working as a primary school teacher in Saudi Arabia, Middle East. He denied the charges but was convicted by a jury last month. On Monday, he was sentenced to a decade behind bars.
He was given a seven-year sentence for encouraging a 13-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity including penetration and a further three years for a similar offence involving a 14-year-old boy.
Prosecutor Eric Lamb told the court that Fuge used a fake online identity to gain the victims’ trust before pressuring them into sharing images. Investigators later linked the same account to a second boy who had also been targeted.
Fuge, of Prospect Road, Dorchester, Dorset, was traced to his teaching position in Saudi Arabia. A police search of his parents’ home in Wrexham uncovered five restricted images on his devices.
The court also heard that Fuge had been arrested in 2022 but later attempted to harm himself before receiving medical treatment.
During sentencing, the father of one victim read a statement in court, highlighting the emotional impact of the case.
Addressing Fuge, who was on a video link from HMP Berwyn, he said his son had been “smart, kind and considerate” but fell victim to “feeding (Fuge’s) twisted need for control”. After Fuge leaked photos on the internet, his son was bullied in school but also intimidated at home – where he should have felt safe – by Fuge’s online presence “prowling just out of reach”.
The father added: “My wife and I feared our son would commit suicide because of your lurid bearings.” But finally the “faceless evil” is over, he said.
“It’s your turn to feel ashamed, it’s your turn to feel embarrassed, it’s your turn to feel fear of what might happen,” he said. The mother of the second victim said in a statement, read by the prosecutor, she was worried about her “broken boy”.
She was frightened he could take his own life and checked on him every hour. She said she was “so pleased” that both boys “are still here with us”. Nevertheless his father felt he had failed to protect his son from the “monster” Fuge.
She added: “You may have stolen their childhood but you won’t steal their future.” Nicholas Williams, defending, said Fuge had incited the video of the first victim and shared the video with the second victim.
But “someone else” had then taken the second victim’s phone, found the video and posted it around the school. The offences had been denied until a jury convicted Fuge, but neither boy had had to give evidence in person, added defence counsel.
Mr Williams admitted it was “worrying” that his client had been a primary school teacher. However there was no link between his crimes and any pupils in the Middle East, he said.
Jailing him he ordered him to sign the sex offender register and be made subject to a sexual harm prevention order both for ten years. There was a 10-year restraining order prohibiting Fuge from contacting his victims and he is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults indefinelty.
Daniel Fuge was also a primary school teacher at a school in Chickerell and is seen in an image used by Dorset Echo – You can view this article here: https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14978256.could-the-next-prime-minister-come-from-a-west-dorset-primary-school/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJX_5VleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHe0UGyUa7lgre4zpW–Ujqia7tVfv1Y-lj_GnU2SYxmz7Y3Q9GMS7sDiwg_aem_gXLgBqDAE0sg9lhJGY37sQ