Teacher who falsely accused colleague of viewing explicit images allowed to remain on register

Seán McCárthaigh

A fitness-to-teach inquiry has ruled that a teacher who received a criminal conviction for falsely accusing a male colleague of viewing naked girls on his phone during class at an all-girls secondary school can remain on the Register of Teachers subject to compliance with several conditions.

An inquiry panel of the Teaching Council also directed that the teacher, a 44-year-old married father, be censured.

The decision followed an inquiry on Wednesday at which the teacher made admissions over two allegations that he had a conviction for an indictable offence.

The teacher, who admitted “a profound failure of judgement under acute pressure,” had asked the regulatory body to consider a sanction short of his removal from the register to enable him “to return to work I truly love.”

The inquiry heard he received a suspended two-month sentence in June 2024 and was ordered to carry out 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty to two counts of sending a grossly offensive communication to another person with the intent to cause harm, contrary to Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences 2020.

The accused had sent an anonymous handwritten letter to gardaí on March 30th, 2022 and a similar letter to the school’s principal on May 25th, 2022.

Neither the teacher nor his former school can be identified as a result of a direction by the inquiry panel.

The letters, which purported to come from students in the school, claimed that the PE teacher was looking at inappropriate content, including pictures of naked girls, on his phone at work.

They suggested the teacher may have been taking photos of his students during class.

It was also claimed that the teacher had called his students “fat and useless”, but the students were reluctant to report the matter as they were afraid of him.

Counsel for the Teaching Council, Brian Gageby, outlined how the victim was “shocked” when informed by the school’s principal about the letter sent to gardaí in March 2022.

The PE teacher also told gardaí the following month of his concerns about the false allegations made against him.

The inquiry heard the victim was “disgusted and horrified” when he was contacted again by the principal after she had received a letter containing similar allegations in May 2022 because of the potential harm it could have on both his personal and professional life.

The principal claimed she was informed by Tusla that the matter did not require reporting as the letters were anonymous and there were no previous concerns about the PE teacher.

At the end of May 2022, Gageby explained how the principal was able to identify the sender of the anonymous letters from CCTV footage after gardaí had traced the stamp used to post the second letter to a post office near the school.

The inquiry heard how the accused had contacted the principal “out of the blue” on February 1st, 2023, in which he claimed he had overheard students expressing concern about the behaviour of the PE teacher, but could not identify them.

The principal told gardaí that the teacher had also admitted sending an anonymous letter about it because he was afraid of being isolated in the staff room if he had reported the matter formally.

She recalled that he was very upset and emotional about the situation.

When being voluntarily interviewed by gardaí two weeks later, the teacher said he was shocked at what he had overheard being said by 6th year students about his colleague because of the safety and welfare issues it raised.

In a prepared statement, he stressed that he intended no malice in taking what he saw as the “most expeditious route” in sending an anonymous letter which he regarded as a protected disclosure.

The accused said he bore no ill will towards his colleague, with whom he claimed to have a good relationship and with whom he would speak about “farming and football.”

However, he made no response to gardaí when asked about his legal obligation to report a child welfare incident.

The teacher claimed he also overheard concerns being voiced again about his colleague by transition year students in late 2022, but did not report the matter.

In correspondence with the Teaching Council in July 2024, the teacher claimed he had suffered an “acute stress reaction” at the time of sending the anonymous letters for which he was still receiving counselling.

He acknowledged what happened was a “serious error of judgement” which had major consequences for his family and their financial situation.

The teacher said he had behaved “improperly and impulsively” and was ashamed of his actions.

The inquiry heard he had issued an apology and given €5,000 compensation to his victim, who has also initiated civil proceedings against him.

The teacher said there was no risk of any recurrence of the offending, a claim he stated was verified by a medical assessment.

He outlined how he had experienced a period of severe stress, which involved a number of health issues within his family.

The teacher also claimed he had suffered intense, sometimes aggressive, bullying by the PE teacher for many years, including having his head slapped and hair pulled.

He accused his colleague of going to great lengths to inform other staff that he was only a teacher because he had been a failure in business.

The teacher claimed he stopped going to the staff room and attending Christmas and summer parties because of the bullying and humiliation he felt.

However, he accepted his actions in response to the bullying were “unacceptable and unjustifiable” and ran against his religious and moral principles.

He claimed his “ill-considered” idea of the anonymous letters was motivated primarily “to get him off my back.”

The teacher also claimed he had not informed the school principal of his pending court case on the advice of his trade union, which had led to disciplinary proceedings against him.

The inquiry heard he had terminated his employment at the school as well as at another school, subsequently in February 2024, although he expressed hope of finding a way back into teaching.

A male relative, who accompanied the teacher to speak on his behalf, said the teacher was making full admissions about his actions, which were wrong “legally, morally, ethically and professionally.”

However, he said psychiatric reports had endorsed his fitness to return to teaching.

Announcing the inquiry panel’s ruling, its chairperson, Clodagh O’Hara, said the teacher could remain on the Register of Teachers provided he completed a restorative practice course and attended a psychiatrist and counsellor within prescribed time limits.

O’Hara said the teacher was also required to tell any prospective employer of the conditions attached to his registration.