Missing Maths Teacher

Rickster wrote (see)

XFR Bear wrote (see)

How is it treating law-abiding people as criminals?  It's treating them as an unknown quantity, which is actually what they are.

 

The only way I can see of not making innocent people wait for the CRB to come back will also let people with paedophile convictions teach/whatever while you wait for the CRB to come back - that seems quite a risk to take.

 

What exactly are you proposing as a better alternative Rickster?

I'm proposing that they drop the price a bit, as it seems like a money making excercise. Surely it shouldn't cost £44 to check a couple of records.

So you actually have no idea how much work goes into a check as you seem to think its only checking a couple of records.

What is it then?

The thing that gets to me is that on the pictures from the CCTV on the boat that girl looks really young to me...I mean she looks like a young girl holding the hand of an obviously older man...I wonder if any of us had seen them would we have done something about it?

I doubt any of us would see anything wrong unless they were bahaving in a way to suggest GF/BF and even then who could realistically judge ages well enough to intervene.

gingerfurball wrote (see)

The thing that gets to me is that on the pictures from the CCTV on the boat that girl looks really young to me...I mean she looks like a young girl holding the hand of an obviously older man...I wonder if any of us had seen them would we have done something about it?

Most might assume it was father/daughter?

A young father!

Ghostrider wrote (see)

I guess my angle is, how can someone shoot them selves in the foot with such power.

 

4) He is going to do some serious bird.

Will he? What law has he broken? I guess sex with a minor might be proved (well it's rape I think because under 16s can't give consent as far as my limited knowledge stretches), hard to prove, but what would constitute a long time in jail when you really look at the law?

We know there are many breaches of trust and professional responsibility, but what actually in law, I don't know. Anyone know about child law here?

Devil's advocate question, what happens if they come back and both claim no physical contact?

I assume it's still inappropriate behaviour from a teacher and his job would suffer but could he avoid jail?

GFB - To me the pictures look like a teenager rather than a young girl holding the hand of a man about 30.   I might wonder but she could easily be 17 so what complete strangers are meant to do I'm not sure - it's not like you can challenge someone because his girlfriend looks like she might be under 16 but could easily be over that age.  I know what you mean about people often not intervening in things but in this case I'm not sure they could be expected to.

If they come back and claim not to have had sex and it can't be proved they have then I suppose he gets sacked and charged with some less serious offence which to be honest would seem fair enough to me.   

border control would have the passport and so the date of birth.......

They went on a ferry Seren.....  When we went to France on the ferry they didn't even bother to take the passports out of my hand when we left the UK, and coming back it was a holiday in France so only the girl at the ferry company office looked at them...

kittenkat wrote (see)

Ghostrider wrote (see)

I guess my angle is, how can someone shoot them selves in the foot with such power.

 

4) He is going to do some serious bird.

Will he? What law has he broken? I guess sex with a minor might be proved (well it's rape I think because under 16s can't give consent as far as my limited knowledge stretches), hard to prove, but what would constitute a long time in jail when you really look at the law?

We know there are many breaches of trust and professional responsibility, but what actually in law, I don't know. Anyone know about child law here?

Assuming the worst from the facts all these offences could apply:

Rape (it is illegal to have sex with a person under the age of 16.) I think there is some prosecutorial discretion where the defendant is also quite young (e.g. a 18 year old having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend) to charge them with a "lesser" offence, but I doubt very much that any court would see a situation where a man in his 30s had sex with a 15 year old pupil as a situation that calls for a "lesser" offence.

Abuse of a position of trust (if you are in a position of trust, e.g. teacher, the age of consent is 18 not 16, to protect vulnerable 16 and 17 year olds that might be unduly influenced by someone in authority). It's not just a question of professional ethics or morals, it is a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act.

Child abduction (removing a child from the lawful custody of the parents)

Kidnapping (you can't "consent" to kidnap if you are under 16, the same way you can't consent to sexual intercourse)

EKGO wrote (see)

Devil's advocate question, what happens if they come back and both claim no physical contact?

I assume it's still inappropriate behaviour from a teacher and his job would suffer but could he avoid jail?

Kidnap and child abduction for starters? He still removed her from the custody of her lawful guardians, whether or not she went willingly is irrelevant. 

I'd like to think it was something you couldn't get away with

I can't imagine that the CPS would think that this situation didn't call for SOME form of prosecution. This isn't a niave teenage boy running off with his underage girlfriend, this is a grown man who has disappeared with a 15 year old girl entrusted to his care.

Whether they have been spending their time in France having sex or playing Monopoly, is there anyone who actually thinks that his actions should avoid some form of prosecution?

gingerfurball wrote (see)

The thing that gets to me is that on the pictures from the CCTV on the boat that girl looks really young to me...I mean she looks like a young girl holding the hand of an obviously older man...I wonder if any of us had seen them would we have done something about it?

To be honest, unless I recognised them from the images on the news then I doubt I would give it a second thought if I saw them.

God gave man enought blood to operate a brain and a penis, Sadly not at the same time.

Walked past the queue for the school bus in the village this morning, and whished I was 30 years younger