A post-primary school teacher who engaged in a sexual relationship with an 18-yr-old Leaving Certificate student before her exams, after exchanging explicit photos with her on Snapchat, has been removed from the teaching register, reports RTE.
The Teaching Council’s inquiry panel also decided that the teacher, in his 30s, is barred from applying to restore his registration for at least 30 years due to the “exceptional and disturbing” nature of the findings against him.
Clodagh O’Hara, the chairperson of the three-person panel, delivered the sanction decision today after finding the teacher guilty of professional misconduct earlier this month for inappropriate relationships with two female students at his school, which she labeled as “sinister and disturbing,” reports RTE.
Ms. O’Hara stated that the findings against the teacher were “at or very near the highest point on any spectrum of seriousness.”
She described his behavior as “predatory, manipulative, and abusive” toward both students during a time when they were particularly vulnerable, reports RTE.
The panel expressed concern that there was a risk the teacher could repeat similar behavior with other young or vulnerable individuals.
The sanction followed evidence presented at a July fitness-to-teach inquiry, which detailed the teacher’s sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student, referred to as Miss A, including encounters in his car, apartment, and the student’s family home, reports RTE.
The inquiry also learned that the teacher displayed “predatory” behavior toward Miss A’s best friend, known as Miss B, by kissing and touching her in a pub on their 6th Year graduation night.
All allegations of professional misconduct against the teacher, which occurred during the 2017/18 school year, were proven, reports RTE.
These actions also violated the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.
The inquiry panel ordered that no information be published that could identify the teacher, the students, or the school involved.
Ms. O’Hara explained that the teacher initially contacted the students on social media in seemingly harmless ways, but his messages became increasingly sexualized as they responded, reports RTE.
She noted that his communications later turned “increasingly lewd and obscene,” with his interactions with Miss A rapidly escalating into a sexual relationship, often involving alcohol.
Miss A testified that she was “naïve and vulnerable” when she recalled receiving explicit images of the teacher’s penis and sending nude photos in return, reports RTE.
The inquiry, prompted by Miss A’s formal complaint, heard that the teacher encouraged her to drink alcohol to make her “horny.”
She also testified that he told her it would be “hot” if they had sex while she wore her school uniform.
Ms. O’Hara said the student suffered harm from the experience but commendably reported it to the Teaching Council and provided evidence at the inquiry, reports RTE.
Two of the eight allegations concerned the teacher’s inappropriate actions toward Miss B, who recounted how he slapped her bottom multiple times on her graduation night as she climbed a stairway.
Miss B described how they later kissed in a dark corner, after which he sent her a message saying: “You should have come back to mine,” reports RTE.
Ms. O’Hara noted that Miss B was confronted by the teacher in school after blocking him on social media, causing her fear to the point of immediately unblocking him.
Neasa Bird BL, counsel for the Teaching Council, advocated for the teacher to be struck off due to the “extremely serious” findings against him.
Ms. O’Hara said the panel agreed with the regulatory body that the findings were fundamentally incompatible with the teacher remaining registered, reports RTE.
The teacher, absent from the inquiry, was represented by solicitor Eoin McGlinchey, who stated last week that his client acknowledged his teaching career was likely over.
Ms. O’Hara said the panel aimed to impose a fair and proportionate sanction to convey the gravity of its findings to the teacher and the broader profession, reports RTE.
She remarked that any mitigation in the teacher’s favor was “very limited.”
Ms. O’Hara said the panel was unconvinced by the solicitor’s claim that the teacher was young and relatively inexperienced at the time, reports RTE.
It also dismissed Mr. McGlinchey’s argument that the teacher had effectively admitted guilt by not cross-examining witnesses.
The panel criticized the teacher’s lack of insight into his actions, and Ms. O’Hara noted that his teaching union representative had initially submitted a highly legalistic response, questioning the credibility of the students’ accounts, reports RTE.
The chairperson stated that the teacher’s first acknowledgment of reality came last week when he accepted his career was likely finished, though without any expression of understanding, remorse, or insight.
Ms. O’Hara concluded that striking the teacher’s name from the register and prohibiting restoration for a set period was “the sanction of last resort,” but no other measure could address the severity of the findings while prioritizing public protection, reports RTE.
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