Teacher who had sex with Leaving Cert student struck off for minimum of 30 years
Seán McCárthaigh
A post-primary school teacher who had sex with an 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student in the run-up to her exams after sharing explicit photos with her on Snapchat has been struck off the register of teachers.
An inquiry panel of the Teaching Council also ruled that the teacher, who is in his 30s, cannot apply to have his name restored to the register for a minimum of 30 years due to the “exceptional and disturbing” findings against him.
The chairperson of the three-person panel, Clodagh O’Hara, announced its determination on sanction on Friday after having found the teacher guilty earlier this month of professional misconduct over his inappropriate relationships with two female students at the school where he taught which she described as “sinister and disturbing.”
Ms O’Hara said all the findings against the teacher were “at or very near the highest point on any spectrum of seriousness.”
She claimed his pattern of conduct was “predatory, manipulative and abusive” of both students at a time they were particularly vulnerable.
The panel expressed concern that the risk of the teacher engaging in similar conduct towards other young or vulnerable people could not be discounted.
The sanction followed evidence before a fitness-to-teach inquiry held in July in which details of the teacher’s sexual relationship with a then 18-year-old student, known only as Miss A, were revealed including meetings in his car and apartment as well as the girl’s family home.
'Predatory' behaviour
The inquiry also heard that the the teacher had engaged in “predatory” behaviour with her best friend – a student identified as Miss B – when he kissed and touched her in a pub on their 6th Year graduation night.
A series of allegations of professional misconduct against the teacher, which were all proven, related to various times during the 2017/18 school year.
They also constituted breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.
The inquiry panel directed that no information could be published which could identify either the teacher, the students or the school involved in the case.
Ms O’Hara said the teacher had initially contacted the two students on social media in ostensibly innocuous terms, but the tone of his messages gradually became sexualised when they responded.
She said his messages later became “increasingly lewd and obscene” with his contact with Miss A quickly escalating into a sexual relationship, which was usually accompanied by alcohol.
Miss A gave evidence that she was “naïve and vulnerable” when she recalled that he had sent her “d**k pics” of his penis and she had sent him nude photos in return.
The inquiry, which arose following a formal complaint by Miss A, heard that he had also encouraged her to drink alcohol because it would make her “horny.”
She also gave evidence that the teacher told her it would be “hot” if they had sex while she was in her school uniform.
Ms O’Hara said the student had been harmed by the experience, but to her credit had sought to address the matter, including by reporting it to the Teaching Council and giving evidence to the inquiry.
Two of the eight allegations related to the teacher’s inappropriate behaviour with Miss B, who recounted how he had slapped her bum several times on her graduation night as she was walking up a stairway.
Ms B described how they later kissed in a dark corner and he subsequently sent her a message which stated: “You should have come back to mine.”
Ms O’Hara said Miss B was confronted by the teacher in school after she had blocked him on social media and was frightened to the extent that she immediately unblocked him.
'Extremely serious'
Counsel for the Teaching Council, Neasa Bird BL, had called for the teacher to face the higher form of sanction of being struck off because of the “extremely serious” findings against him.
Ms O’Hara said the panel agreed with the view of the regulatory body that the findings against the teacher were fundamentally incompatible with him remaining as a registered teacher.
The teacher, who did not attend the inquiry, was legally represented by solicitor Eoin McGlinchey, who said last week that his client had accepted that it was likely his teaching career was finished.
Ms O’Hara said the panel had sought to impose a fair and appropriate sanction which would send a message to the teacher and wider profession about the seriousness of its findings.
She observed that any mitigation in the teacher’s favour was “very limited.”
Ms O’Hara said the panel were not persuaded by his solicitor’s argument that he was also very young and relatively inexperienced as a teacher at the time.
It also rejected Mr McGlinchey’s submission that the teacher had effectively made admissions by not cross-examining witnesses.
The panel criticised the teacher’s lack of insight into his behaviour, while Ms O’Hara noted that his teaching union representative had made a highly legalised submission that the students’ version of events was not credible in their initial response to the complaint against him.
The chairperson said the teacher’s first acceptance of reality came last week when the panel heard he had accepted his teaching career was likely to be over, even though it was not accompanied by an expression of understanding or remorse or any level of insight.
Ms O’Hara said removing the teacher’s name from the register and not allowing it to be restored for a specified period was “the sanction of last resort” but no other measure could address the seriousness of the findings and the paramount consideration of protecting the public.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
