A PUBLIC school rowing coach who posed as a 16-year-old girl to sexually manipulate 32 teenage boys has been jailed for six years.

Andrew Cook, 30, was convicted of 37 sexual offences involving dozens of boys aged between 13 and 17 at a school in London.

Cook, of Newbury, tricked the boys into getting naked on camera making "pic for pic" requests while posing as a teenage girl.

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Victims recalled feeling "embarrassed" "awful" and "physically sick" when they discovered 'Anne Jones' was in fact their rowing coach who they trusted and regarded as a friend.

Cook was sentenced on Friday where he appeared at Guildford Crown Court wearing a grey suit with a red tie.

He was sentenced to six years in prison.

The ex rowing coach was also banned from working with children and will be placed on the sexual offenders register.

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Judge Alexia Durran said: "You were in a position of trust to many of the teenage victims.

"They said you were someone they trusted, someone who helped them when they were bullied, someone who had betrayed their trust. Some feel it has impacted their academic studies.

"The total sentence within this case is one of 72 months imprisonment or six years.

"You will serve up to one half of that sentence in custody and then you will be released."

Surrey Police launched their probe in April 2018 after being alerted by the school and found Cook had been offending since June 2011.

The rowing coach was sacked from the 450-year-old Hampton School two years ago after an internal disciplinary inquiry.

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During his nine-year period of abuse, Cook invited victims to a game of truth and dare online and asked them to trade "pic for pic."

On one occasion, he pretended to be his female cousin while talking to a boy online who he sent photos of a topless female and asked for nude pictures in return.

For seven years, Cook posed as a 16-year-old girl under the name Anne Jones, communicating with teenage boys via Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Messenger.

Victims described Cook as "forward" and "persistent"in encouraging them to engage in "sexting" and "picture swaps."

Arresting officers unveiled dozens of indecent images of children from two iPhones and a computer belonging to Cook.

The ex rowing coach pleaded guilty to 37 counts of grooming the boys to pose naked for him and to possessing 53 indecent images of children.

He denied charges related to three further boys which were not tried and will remain on file.

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Upon sentencing, Cook stood in the dock and said: "I would like to apologise to the court.

"I would also like to apologise to the boys although I understand I must never contact them directly. I was immature in taking the actions I did."

Friends and relatives of Cook said he has shown "nothing but remorse" for his actions in statements submitted to the court.

Lionel Blackman, in mitigation, said: "In two years, he has shown he is somebody capable of rehabilitation.

"The defendant has done everything he could do to stop offending. He does apologise."

Cook's string of offending took place between September 2011 and February 2018.

He was convicted of 27 charges of intentionally encouraging boys to send photos, one charge of engaging in sexual communication with a child, one count of causing a child to view sexual activity, four charges of inciting a boy to engage in sexual activity, one charge of distributing an indecent image of a child and three charges of possessing indecent images of children.

A spokesperson for the School said: “We have been deeply saddened by this matter, which runs completely counter to the values of our School.   The welfare of our pupils is always our highest priority.  

"As soon as we became aware of concerns in spring term 2018, we immediately informed all relevant authorities.  Mr Cook was suspended from the School and subsequently dismissed with immediate effect following an internal disciplinary investigation.  

"Since then we have worked closely with Surrey Police and partner agencies to assist with their ongoing inquiries and provide all possible support, both to them and to the victims.

"We are grateful to all those who have helped bring this matter to justice, not least of course those whose courage in coming forward provided invaluable assistance to the investigation. We express our profound regret to those affected and offer our continued support.”