Spanish teacher sacked after accidentally projecting porn into classroom during exam

A teacher in Spain was sacked after accidentally projecting porn and sex chats into a classroom during a 50-minute exam

Young people with a low sense of belonging are nearly seven times more likely to self-harm (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A teacher at a Catholic school in Spain, who accidentally projected porn and sex chat websites to a class of 12-year-olds, has lost an appeal against his dismissal.

The unnamed teacher at Sagrado Corazon de Don Benito, in Badajoz, projected the images for almost an hour during a Year 8 exam, visiting several different porn websites using his computer, which he did not realise was connected to the overhead projector, according to The Local.

This week, the teacher appealed a decision by the school’s parents’ association to dismiss him following the incident in April 2014, claiming his behaviour was due to traumatic childhood experiences.

However, The Local reported that the High Court in Extremadura, in western Spain, rejected the teacher’s appeal on the grounds that his behaviour was negligent, despite the incident being an accident, and upheld the school’s decision to dismiss him.

It is believed that the teacher initially reported the incident to the school’s headmaster after realising his computer was connected to the projector, after which an investigation was launched by the school.

On its website, the school stated that while the man’s teaching career had been “faultless” to date, it had appointed a commission to investigate what had happened and took the decision to fire the teacher, with the objective of protecting the students.

The school added that it had dismissed the teacher following a serious breach of trust, and disloyalty, for connecting to sites with sexual content while in the classroom.