Former Educating Cardiff teacher admits sexually assaulting teenager

Gareth Ritter, a former teacher featured in the Channel 4 documentary series Educating Cardiff, pleaded guilty during his trial to sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. Ritter, 44, of Bryngwyn in Monmouthshire, changed his plea while giving evidence in his defence. His barrister asked for the charge to be put to him again, and Ritter replied “guilty”.

The court was told that the offences carried a custodial sentence and that immediate custody would be considered. Ritter had previously denied intentionally touching the teenager sexually without consent. The court heard that after an event in Cardiff he offered to drive her home but stopped at a flat he owned in Cardiff Bay, saying he needed to check it before a new tenant arrived.

The woman told the court that Ritter touched her while they stood on a balcony and later kissed her in the hallway. She said he repeatedly asked whether she would tell anyone about what had happened after driving her home. The incident was reported several years later after detectives examining Ritter’s phone found intimate images of a young woman who was under 18.

The woman was later identified as the same person who reported the Cardiff Bay incident. The court was told that Ritter had since pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing unlawful images because the woman was 17 when they were taken. Ritter initially denied knowing about the flat or giving her a lift, but later acknowledged that his first police account was untruthful.

He was granted bail until sentencing on 4 November.