A paedophile principal blamed his attempts to groom more than 100 boys on his rapid rise to success.
Nick Clayton, from Hoylake, held lewd Facebook chats with 131 children aged as young as 10 while working as the principal of a British international school in Iraq. Liverpool Crown Court this week heard the 38-year-old's position of power "went to his head and enabled him to behave in a completely inappropriate, destructive way".
He contacted the profiles of 131 boys - mostly based in South Asia - over a three-month period in 2017 in order to "solicit" indecent images of the youngsters. Jonathan Rogers, prosecuting, described how the conversations also showed "evidence of travelling to meet children" - although Clayton was only charged in connection with attempts to groom four teens.
