Married youth worker called young girl 'chicken nugget' and rubbed her thigh

Wales Online

2 days ago

Married youth worker called young girl 'chicken nugget' and rubbed her thigh
He also sent her sexually explicit messages and said he wanted 'a friend with benefits', adding that she needn't worry about having children with him 'because I've had the snip'
Youth worker Francois Hanson worked for Neath Port Talbot Council youth services
(Image: Copyright Unknown )
A married youth worker put his hand on a child's thigh and rubbed it during an unofficial meeting with her in his van. Francois Hanson, who worked for Neath Port Talbot Council youth team, also sent the girl, who was under 16, sexually explicit messages, a professional standards committee was told.
In one he told her he needed "a friend with benefits". He also told the child she needn't worry about having children with him "because I've had the snip", the Education Workforce Council Wales panel heard.
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The girl, identified only as Child A, was taking exams at the time and having problems at home. She told the panel that initially she had wanted Hanson to be her youth worker but then his messages began to make her feel "uncomfortable".
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Hanson, who nicknamed her "chicken nugget", started being "inappropriate" just weeks after being allocated as her local authority youth worker, the hearing, held remotely on June 3, was told.
Giving evidence the girl, now in her early twenties, recalled that the married man and father began to drive her home in his van alone. He would park at the top of her street where they would sit and talk for hours several times a week. It was on one of these occasions that he rubbed her thigh.
She told the panel that Hanson, a youth worker with Neath Port Talbot Council since 2005, told her that he was keeping money away from his wife and children to get a house they could move into together.
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He began sending her sexually explicit messages from his personal phone on the social media channel, Snapchat, sometimes as late as 1am.
These messages included saying he needed someone to drink with and have fun with, asking her why she was shy, and telling her he "liked her a lot, more than I should". Sign up for our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
The girl, now a young woman, said she had not understood at the time how inappropriate his actions and messages were. She had been suicidal at times because of problems in her life and Hanson, who she knew as "Frankie" was easy to talk to.
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She said he told her he was not happy in his marriage and on one occasion suggested she come to his house when his wife and children were out.
Asked about when he touched her, she told the hearing that she had just told him about having suicidal feelings at the time: "He put his hand on my (mid/upper) thigh and told me "everything is going to be OK".
"He rubbed up and down (on my thigh) and said 'everything is going to be alright'. I was like, OK, well I've got to go now. I remember hugging and then getting out of the van."
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She went on to explain: "He would message me after school and would contact me as late as 11pm or 1am over Snapchat sometimes." She said these messages made her feel "uncomfortable and embarrassed" coming from someone so much older who was meant to be safeguarding her as her youth worker.
In one he told her: "I need a friend with benefit who I can drink with and have fun with...I would ask you but I don't want to scare you off or freak you out."
On another occasion he messaged suggesting she come to his home because he had "a free house". Child A said she was wondering how to respond when the friend with her advised: "Absolutely not, you are not going. Stay with me. Either you tell your parents or I will."
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Matters came to a head when Hanson asked Child A to come to his house "for a guitar lesson" because his wife and children were out. When she told a friend, referred to as Child B in the hearing, Child B told her not to go, especially as they had an exam in the morning.
The next day Child A went into school and told the school safeguarding officer about the messages from Hanson and showed her some of them. Police were called and came to the school where she made a statement.
Police took her phone to try to recover the Snapchat and other messages, but Snapchat messages disappear if not saved and officers closed the case saying there was not enough evidence to secure a conviction.
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Hanson faces the following allegations before the EWC:
That while employed as a youth worker at Neath Port Talbot Council:
1. He sent one or more inappropriate message(s) to Child A.
2. He made one or more inappropriate comments to Child A, in that he:
(a) said, 'Well you wouldn't have to worry about that [having children] with me because I've had the snip';
(b) told her about problems in his marriage; and/or
(c) told her that she could move in with him.
3. He put his hand on Child A's thigh.
4. His conduct at paragraph 1 and/or 2 and/or 3 was:
(a) of a sexual nature; and/or
(b) sexually motivated.
5. The facts of paragraphs 1 and/or 2 and/or 3 and/or 4 above constitute unacceptable professional conduct when considered (a) individually; and/or (b) together.
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Hanson did not attend the hearing and was not represented and therefore the allegations were all taken as denied, panel chair Steve Powell said.
The hearing continues.