A secondary school teacher has appeared in court accused of the sexual assault and murder of a 13-month-old baby boy he was adopting.
Jamie Varley, 36, who was a head of year at a school in Blackpool, is also accused of a number of counts of assault, cruelty and taking and distributing indecent images relating to Preston Davey.
Varley was in the process of adopting Preston along with the co-accused John McGowan-Fazakerley, 31. Both men appeared in court on Friday, nearly two years after police were called to Blackpool Victoria hospital, where the one-year-old died on 27 July 2023.
Preston was taken into care by Oldham council six days after he was born, theBlackpool Gazettereported. After spending some time in foster care, a court order allowed him to be placed for adoption and he was moved to Blackpool on 3 April 2023. He died barely three months later.
Varley spoke only to confirm his identity during the five-minute hearing at Lancaster magistrates court. The defendant is also accused of one count of manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration of a child, five counts of child cruelty, one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm and one count of sexual assault of a child.
He is further accused of 10 counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child, two counts of possessing indecent pseudo-images of a child and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
Varley was teaching at South Shore academy, run by the Cidari multi-academy trust in Blackpool, when he was arrested in 2023. School records show that at various times he was head of years 9, 10 and 11.
In a statement, the trust said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Preston Davey and all those affected by this case.”
It said South Shore academy was run by Bright Futures Education Trust at the time of Varley’s arrest and he was immediately suspended while the police investigation was under way.
His suspension continued when the academy was later transferred to Cidari Multi Academy Trust. “During this time he has not been permitted on to, or attended, school premises, or been permitted to contact pupils or colleagues.”
The trust said senior leaders and specialist staff had been providing support to colleagues and pupils at the academy on Friday. It added: “Following the decision to charge Mr Varley, and the nature of those charges, Cidari is now considering its position in relation to Mr Varley’s employment.
“This will be done in consultation with other agencies and within the relevant legislation and statutory.”
McGowan-Fazakerley is charged with allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one of sexual assault of a child. The defendant confirmed his identity and was also remanded into custody.
All the charges for both men, spanning March to July 2023, relate to Preston. Both men, from Grimsargh, near Preston, will appear at Preston crown court on Monday.