Former head of teaching union David Baxter jailed after being convicted of sexually assaulting pupil
The former head of a Northern Ireland teaching union David Baxter has been jailed for four-and-a-half months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a pupil in his storeroom at Erne Integrated College in 2018.
The Judge told the 65-year-old of Killadeas Road in Lisnarick that Baxter had shown a "complete denial of culpability" and "no remorse."
"This matter is aggravated by the fact that you abused your position of trust as a teacher. The victim was a vulnerable child whom you groomed, and you were the architect of an opportunity to bring her into the storeroom, where you sexually assaulted her.
"There is a high degree of harm in this case, as the victim had to leave her school, and this has affected her for the rest of her life.
"In some distorted sense of reality, you consider yourself a victim, and I regard that as an aggravating feature."
The victim was in court for sentencing supported by her family.
The court heard Baxter maintains his innocence.
He was granted bail and is set to appeal his conviction.
In a statement Erne Integrated College said: "The current board of governors of Erne Integrated College wishes first of all to repeat our abhorrence of the assault suffered by our former student.
"Our first thoughts are with the young woman herself and her family.
"It is a source of pain and deep regret that she was subjected to abuse within our school, at a time when she should have felt particularly safe and secure.
"The school was inspected by ETI in June 2024, and safeguarding figured strongly in the positive report.
"All aspects of safeguarding and pastoral care will always be regularly reviewed, and the board of governors has every confidence in our staff in doing so.
"Safeguarding in the school is undertaken by a team of fully trained staff, and every student and staff member is encouraged to approach the team member they feel comfortable in speaking to.
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