A TEACHER who fled to Britain after hypnotising a pupil to perform a sex act on him taught in Sussex for the last two decades.

South African Stephen Pieter Grobbelaar, 53, has been banned from teaching for life after molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1987, and was working as head of history at Windlesham House School in Pulborough when the allegations came to light.

The victim approached Grobbelaar because he was having difficulties with maths, and was convinced to try hypnotherapy. But when the shamed teacher had the boy in a trance, he undressed and sexually abused him.

Three years after the incident, the boy managed to recall what had happened, prompting Grobbelaar to flee South Africa and he landed a job at Dorset House School in Pulborough.

Eleven years ago, he switched to Windlesham House, and a spokeswoman for the school told The Argus how the school were shocked when the victim tracked down the school and alerted them of the teacher’s tainted past.

She said: “This incident is totally unrelated to Windlesham and it happened long before he arrived with us.

“There was absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing while he was with us, and this is just totally unrelated to Windlesham. It hasn’t had an effect on the school at the moment, but we have very strong support here and this is not anything to do with the school, so people will read that.”

Grobbelaar admitted the allegations at a teacher misconduct panel of the National College for Teacher and Leadership.

The panel said he had committed “serious sexual misconduct” and his actions had “seriously damaged a pupil aged 16 at the time and for many years after”.

“Mr Grobbelaar was in a position of trust, which he breached in a deliberate and carefully planned manner, including an attempt at concealment,” it added.

In an attempt to cover his tracks in 1987, a week after molesting the child, Grobbelaar convinced the boy to go under his spell again – but this time he implanted the suggestion he would not recall the incident.

Grobbelaar’s past caught up with him when the victim tracked him down to Windlesham last summer and contacted the school.

He resigned in November 2013.