A decorated headteacher and Met Police special constable has been branded “predatory” after it was revealed he sexually harassed several female staff members at the primary school where he worked.
Anthony Peltier was branded “awful”, “manipulative”, and “touchy feely” by victims who came forward to report his behaviour.
One said staff were afraid to report Peltier because of his status, while another revealed she had walked out of her job because of him.
Details of Peltier’s behaviour have been revealed after a Metropolitan Police misconduct investigation concluded he had deliberately “targeted” female members of staff at his school, his actions were “predatory”, and led to “distress and psychological harm”.
Peltier, who was awarded a Pride of Britain award for his public service, was a headteacher in London and Essex and also signed up in 2005 as a Met special constable.
He was accused of inappropriate behaviour at his school in 2016, leading to “words of advice”, and more complaints of “inappropriate sexual behaviour and bullying” were made in December 2017, leading to his resignation as headteacher in March 2018.
The Met said the reasons behind his departure were kept hidden from the force, as he continued to serve in a promoted role as Assistant ChiefSpecial Constable.
The complaints were finally passed on to the force in 2022, sparking disciplinary proceedings and Peltier’s resignation from the Met.
A report into Peltier’s misconduct found he had touched female staff inappropriately, giving neck massages and grabbing them by the waist, and the panel said his “behaviour is potentially a criminal offence ofsexual assault”.
He had also made a string of sexually-charged comments to the women, saying to one: “I don’t need a motorbike as I have a different sort of power between my legs” and to another: “Once you have black you never go back.”
Another woman said Peltier told her: “If you get bored of your husband you know where I am.”
In statements to the hearing, one of the women set out: “He is awful, manipulative and preys on the vulnerable.”
Another told the panel: “I loved my job, I left because of him”, and a third said she was left with PTSD and anxiety as a result of his conduct.
Peltier, who was branded a “hero” and a gentleman” online before the allegations against him became public knowledge, denied the claims against him and argued he was the victim of a “campaign against him and racial discrimination from those who did not support his appointment as aheadteacher”.
The misconduct panel found there was no evidence to support his claims, while Peltier had – without providing medical evidence – failed to engage with proceedings saying he is “not emotionally fit” to take part.
The panel, led by chair Evis Samupfonda, found there had been a “pattern of inappropriate behaviour and comments such that if members of the public would learn that a special constable has behaved in such a manner they would be aghast.
“The Panel finds that this was not an isolated incident, it involved multiple complaints and victims, it was deliberate, targeted towards female members of staff, predatory and clearly caused distress and psychological harm.”
Peltier was found guilty of gross misconduct and would have been sacked if he was still serving in the force.
His name will now be added to the College of Policing Barred list, while the misconduct panel heard Peltier promised not to work again in education when he quit his headteacher role.
