Teacher faces removal over sexual relationships with Leaving Cert students

Seán McCárthaigh

The Teaching Council has called for a teacher to be removed from the Register of Teachers after an inquiry found him guilty of professional misconduct over inappropriate relationships with two Leaving Certificate students at the school where he taught.

Counsel for the Teaching Council said the “extremely serious” findings against the teacher were incompatible with him remaining as a registered teacher.

A fitness-to-teach inquiry had previously heard evidence in July that the teacher had sex with a then 18-year-old female student – known only as Miss A – on her mother’s bed and in his car and apartment after sharing explicit photos with her on Snapchat.

It also heard that 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.

At a hearing on Wednesday, an inquiry panel found a series of eight allegations of professional misconduct against the teacher proven which related to inappropriate behaviour with the two students at various times during the 2017/18 school year.

They included that he sent messages, photos and memes of an inappropriate and sexual nature to both students after adding their names to Snapchat.

Miss A gave evidence that she was “naïve and vulnerable” when she recalled that the teacher 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 – who is now in his 30s – told her it would be “hot” if they had sex while she was in her school uniform.

Two of the eight allegations related to the teacher’s inappropriate behaviour with Miss B who told the inquiry that he had slapped her bum several times on her graduation night as she was walking up a stairway.

She gave evidence that they later kissed in a dark corner and he subsequently sent her a message which stated: “You should have come back to mine.”

In a submission on sanction, counsel for the Teaching Council, Neasa Bird BL, said the facts in relation to all the allegations against the teacher had been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

The barrister said the findings constitute professional misconduct as his actions were disgraceful and dishonourable and brought the teaching profession into disrepute as well as breaching the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.

The three-person inquiry panel made a provisional ruling that the teacher’s identity cannot be published but its chairperson, Clodagh O’Hara, said the issue may be revisited.

The teacher did not attend the inquiry but was legally represented at its hearings.

In correspondence, he had questioned the credibility of Miss A’s account and noted she had sent a letter to Miss B which stated that “nothing sexual occurred.”

Ms Bird said the teacher’s actions represented various inappropriate behaviours, including communications that were increasingly of a sexualised nature with a student who was preparing for her Leaving Certificate exams.

She noted he had also engaged in inappropriate contact with another female student, including sending her explicit communications.

Ms Bird said the inquiry panel should have regard for aggravating factors in the case, including the teacher’s abuse of his position and the breach of the teacher/student relationship, in deciding on the appropriate sanction.

She observed that Miss A had much less experience in “the ways of the world” than the teacher and was “potentially vulnerable.”

The inappropriate sexual relationship that he had with the student was even more abusive and damaging, said Ms Bird.

The panel were reminded that the teacher had also encouraged her to drink alcohol.

Ms Bird said his inappropriate conduct with Miss B was also fundamentally at odds with the role of a teacher and could never be justified.

She claimed removing his name from the Register of Teachers was the only sanction that could maintain confidence in the profession.

Ms Bird said there was a pattern to the teacher’s behaviour which meant the case could not be treated as an isolated matter and which suggested he had “harmful, deep-seated attitudinal problems.”

The panel were reminded that the teacher had contributed to the stress and anxiety as well as the sense of guilt felt by Miss A over what had happened.

Ms Bird said there had been no evidence of any insight on the part of the teacher, and he had made no apology or expression of remorse.

The teacher’s solicitor, Eoin McGlinchey, urged the panel to have regard for the fact that it was his client’s first permanent teaching role and he was “very close in age” to his students.

While the teacher had not made any admissions of fact, Mr McGlinchey argued he had done so “in a practical sense” by not challenging the evidence of witnesses through cross-examination.

He said the teacher accepted the panel’s findings “without reservation” and also that it was likely that his teaching career was finished.

The panel’s ruling on sanctions will be announced on September 12th.