Teacher who carried out sex attack on woman is struck off

Stv

A teacher convicted of carrying out a sex attack on a woman has been struck off.

David Morrissey groped the woman and attempted to kiss her at a house in North Lanarkshire.

A month before the attack in Wishaw in March 2010, he made threats in phone calls to her and banged the door of her house.

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At a General Teaching Council Scotland hearing this week, secondary teacher Morrissey was barred from ever entering the classroom again.

In April 2011, Morrissey was convicted at Hamilton Sheriff Court of sexual assault, driving while unfit and committing a breach of the peace by repeatedly calling the woman and a child who lived at the same address.

Sheriff Thomas Miller placed the chemistry, maths and science teacher on the sex offenders register and gave him three years probation for the attack.

Greg Smith, acting for the council, said on Tuesday: “There is no evidence whatsoever that he has reflected on his actions. There is no evidence to suggest he has shown any remorse for the way he has behaved.

“His conduct falls far short of the standard expected of a registered teacher. I would ask the panel to take into account the serious nature of the criminal charges of the offences Mr Morrissey was convicted of.

“At first blush this may seem to be a one off incident, but this occurred over a period of several months. Mr Morrissey has set an extremely poor example as a member of the teaching profession.”

Announcing its decision to strike off Morrissey, the panel said his actions could undermine confidence in the teaching profession.

Panel chairman Donald Mackay said: “In view of the seriousness of the convictions the panel found it had no option but to remove [Morrissey’s] name from the register.”

This article originally appeared on  Stv