A former Lake District teacher, jailed in 2021 for engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable pupil, has been fined for breaches of a court order.
Registered sex offender Mark Craster-Chambers, 59, was convicted by a Carlisle Crown Court jury of two offences.
Both involved Craster-Chambers engaging in sexual activity with a 16-year-old while in a position of trust and in April, 2021, he was given an immediate 18-month prison sentence.
Craster-Chambers was one of three men jailed by a judge for sexually abusing the girl during unconnected incidents two decades before.
He had worked at Coniston’s John Ruskin School and left the teaching profession in 2017 having risen to the position of deputy head during a career which lasted a quarter of a century.
As a result of the conviction, Craster-Chambers was later banned from classroom work for life following a misconduct hearing.
Craster-Chambers maintained his innocence but misconduct panel members concluded a lifetime ban was necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession.
As part of the crown court sentence, Craster-Chambers was made subject to tough sex offender notification requirements, for 10 years.
These placed a legal obligation on him to comply with specified conditions, including registering with police each year and providing up to date personal details, including financial and online information.
But at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court today, Craster-Chambers, of Cumwhinton, near Carlisle, was sentenced for four separate breaches which occurred between March 5 2021, and November 29 2025.
Prosecutor George Shelley said the defendant had been due to attend a police station in November last year, to make his annual notification, but failed to do so.
Police analysed a mobile phone which revealed a YouTube account alias which was not formally notified to officers.
“He was found to be in possession of a Barclays Bank card,” said Mr Shelley. “Neither the card nor bank account had been notified to the police.”
Craster-Chambers admitted the breaches on a formal basis which was accepted by the prosecution but not read in open court.
Defence solicitor Duncan Campbell said the four breaches had been totally inadvertent. “He held his hands up, accepting his responsibilities and taking them very seriously,” said the solicitor.
Compliance with all other aspects of the notification requirement was going absolutely fine.
Craster-Chambers — said to be currently studying for a PhD — was fined £350 for flouting the requirements, and warned any further breaches would be dealt with more harshly.
He must pay £85 prosecution costs and a £140 mandatory surcharge.
