Poulton-le-Fylde piano teacher jailed for sexual communication with a child

A piano and theatre teacher from Poulton-le-Fylde who engaged in sexual communication with a 14-year-old girl has been jailed.

On 5th September 2024, we were contacted by the victim’s mother who had raised concerns about messages that dad found on his daughter’s phone from 46-year-old Chris Higgins.

On 4th September 2024, which was a school night, the victim had brought her mobile phone downstairs due to family rules around mobile devices.

Whilst the phone was on the sofa next to him, the victim’s father noticed a message pop up from a contact listed as Chris. At first the victim’s father didn't know who Chris was, and due to the rules the family have around digital devices and parents checking them periodically, he looked through the phone.

He saw his daughter had deleted messages from the chat, so only messages from the previous 24 hours were displaying, there were also a number of disappearing messages which had been sent.

When he checked the number for Chris in his daughter’s phone for the number he had for Higgins, he realised they were one in the same.

In the messages Higgins alluded to messages which had been deleted from the previous night and ‘pushing her too far the night before’.

The victim’s father made a video recording of all the messages from Higgins on his daughter’s phone.

The following day, after the victim’s mother spoke to her daughter she contacted the police.

Higgins was arrested and his mobile phone was seized.

Sexually explicit and inappropriate messages were recovered from the device, including Higgins’ desire to take the child to a hotel in London.

Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Higgins, of Sanderling Drive, Poulton-le-Fylde was charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child.

Higgins pleaded guilty to that offence when he appeared at Lancaster Magistrates Court earlier this month.

He returned to the same court yesterday (29th January) where he was sentenced to 10 months immediate custody. A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also put in place for 10 years, meaning Higgins’ activities will continue to be monitored after he has been released from prison.

In an impact statement to the court, the victim said: “I didn’t want to go to school, I thought people would be judging me even though no one knew what happened. I wanted to stay in bed all day. I was getting sanctions from school and it would mainly be from my male teachers. My attendance got bad.

“I was a good kid. Didn’t get into trouble, I got on with everybody. After it, Miss said she could see a change in my behaviour. I didn’t want to tell my friends what happened, so I lost a lot of friends. I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who was sad all the time.

“Not going to school affected my grades. I’m below on everything, when before, I was on target or overachieving.

“I didn’t want to play piano. When I sat at the piano, I thought of him and I didn’t like the feeling. I’ve been playing since I was nine. I still don’t play piano now.”

In a statement to the court, the victim’s parents wrote: “The most profound impact of this offence stems from the fact that the defendant was a trusted, well-known member of our community. This betrayal has left our family with a deep-seated mistrust of others and a constant state of anxiety. We are in a persistent state of worry whenever our children are not directly with us.

“It has been heart-breaking to witness the transformation of our daughter. She was once a confident, outgoing, and stage-loving child; she has now become a shadow of her former self. The emotional toll is evident in several ways.”

DC Stacey Billington, from the Blackpool Child Protection Team, said: “Chris Higgins abused his position of trust in order to send sexually explicit messages and wholly inappropriate messages to one of his students. He did this for his own sexual gratification.

“His sordid actions have clearly had a profound impact on his victim and her family. I want to praise them for the strength and patience they have shown in this investigation.

“Hopefully this case will highlight the importance of being tuned in to who your children are messaging on their phones, or viewing online. It was thanks to the diligence and responsible parenting displayed by the victim’s parents that stopped Higgins in his tracks and prevented any further potential offences being committed.”

For help and advice about how to keep your child safe online, visit https://www.lancashire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/online-safety/online-safety/