A former principal of a school in the west of Ireland was removed from the register for teachers on Thursday for allegedly sexually harassing a 23-year-old student teacher.
In its decision the panel in the fitness-to-teach inquiry added that after a period of 15 years from the date of removal, the male teacher may be eligible to apply to be readmitted to the register.
“This [being readmitted to the register] would not be automatic, it would involve a separate application process,” panel chair Paul Moroney added.
The allegations against the teacher, while employed as the principal of the school, occurred in March and April 2017 during the second period of the complainant’s teaching practice there.
RM Block
The allegations included that in March 2017 the teacher asked the complainant to travel to Dublin with him to attend a funeral, which she declined.
Further, it was alleged that at a school variety show on March 24th, the teacher placed his hand inside the complainant’s jacket and touched and/or rubbed her back and/or waist.
A third allegation was that at 1.40am the following morning the teacher sent a text message to the complainant: “Night, night [complainant’s name]. Delighted you could share our special occasion. Take care. [Registered teacher’s name].”
The fourth allegation was that on or around April 20th at the school the teacher hugged the complainant, said to her that they finally had the place to themselves and that he locked the side door of the school.
There, it was alleged, he made a number of comments to the complainant including that he liked her, that he could bring her to Dublin and/or book a hotel room and/or that they could get to know one another.
It was further alleged that the teacher then told the complainant that she could take the classes of someone going on maternity leave the following year and that his influence or power were the reason that other women had progressed in their careers.
The director of the Teaching Council further alleged that the teacher, by his conduct, sought to use his professional position to pursue an inappropriate or sexual relationship with the complainant.
Each of the allegations against the teacher was found to have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that this amounted to professional misconduct and breaches of the code of professional conduct for teachers.
Mr Moroney said this case was “of the most serious nature” where the teacher had abused the trust placed in him over a young student teacher.
He said the conduct of the teacher, in proposing a relationship of a sexual nature, was “predatory”.
Mr Moroney added that there was a pattern of behaviour by the teacher which was also coercive and that there was a risk of the behaviour being repeated.
He said the teacher’s behaviour was “at the very upper end of the scale” and that a strong message needed to be sent out that this behaviour was “absolutely unacceptable”.
The teacher was not present at Thursday’s sanction hearing and also had no legal representation.
Barrister Kate Egan for the director of the Teaching Council outlined correspondence between Fieldfisher solicitors, the legal representatives for the director, and the teacher regarding notification of the sanction hearing, originally scheduled for July 30th.
Ms Egan said the teacher sent an email on July 28th to Rosha Canavan, a solicitor at Fieldfisher, where he asked Fieldfisher not to contact his former home and that he would not be sharing another address with them.
He also said he had retired at the end of May, which he said would have financial implications for his pension for the rest of his life, which could be in the region of a six-figure sum.
He added that the complainant in making her complaint had made a comparison between him and “a notorious murderer”.
“I’m being treated like a pariah as if I had committed murder,” the teacher continued in his email.
The direction of the panel that the identity of the teacher, any witnesses and any school where they have taught be anonymised carried through to today’s hearing and any reporting of it.
