Justice
Justice Reuters

A PE teacher jailed for running a brothel faces a potential lifetime ban from teaching after he was found guilty of misconduct.

Tim Blake-Bowell, 51, taught his students PE during the day and pimped his then-wife Emma and five other women in the evenings.

Blake-Bowell, who also used to prostitute himself from his flat in Canterbury, was sentenced to nine months in jail in 2009.

Now a Teaching Agency panel in Coventry has found him guilty of breaching the teaching code of conduct over the same charges.

"The existence of this conviction surely undermines public confidence in the teaching profession and affects Mr Blake-Bowell's ability to provide an effective learning environment for his pupils," said panel officer Mary Page.

The panel heard that the father-of-two had been a "dedicated teacher" at the 700-pupil King Ethelbert School where he taught pupils aged between 11 and 16.

His former headmaster described him as a valued and trusted colleague who demonstrated "unstinting commitment to those pupils in his pastoral care". Blake-Bowell burst into tears during the Teaching Agency hearing.

At his trial in 2009 Canterbury crown court heard how Blake-Bowell managed the finances of the brothel, while his wife Emma worked as the madam.

The flat operated under various names such as "Gem's", "Pandora's" and "Men For All Seasons".

Blake-Bowell and Emma were arrested in 2007 and broke up shortly after.

Blake-Bowell lost his teaching job but was allowed to stay on at school until the end of term.

At the trial, he admitted a charge of controlling prostitutes for financial gain and was released after serving four of the nine months of his sentence.

His ex-wife pleaded guilty to the same charge but her sentence was suspended.

The panell will shortly decide whether to ban Blake-Bowell from teaching for life.

Blake-Bowell said he has "no plans to return to the profession".