Latest news with #sexualrelationship
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Teacher banned from the classroom for life after sexual relationship with pupil
A veteran teacher once described as 'very popular' has been banned from the classroom after having a sexual relationship with a pupil. Andrew Brook, 61, a longstanding teacher at Queen Elizabeth High School in Northumberland, developed an 'inappropriate relationship' with a pupil between March 2019 and August 2020, and subsequently for six months after she left the school. The teenager described feeling like she could not say no to the then-56-year-old father as he frequently drove her to a remote car park to have sex in the back of his van, while she was in sixth form. Despite the girl's attempts to end the relationship, Brook convinced her to carry on the relationship into her first term at university, where he visited her despite the country being in a national lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. She said the burden of having to lie about the relationship, an order by Brook, left her feeling estranged from her family and friends for over a year. 'Looking back at the relationship, I believe there was a lot of manipulation by Mr Brook,' she told the investigating panel. 'He was older and in a position of authority. I felt as though I could not say no to him in the relationship because of the position her was in. He had a lot of influence over me – he could have probably told me to do anything and I would have done it.' The panel issued an indefinite prohibition order against Brook after they found the teacher showed 'complete lack of insight and remorse' for his behaviour, as well as downplaying the impact his actions had on the girl. In a written response to the panel in February 2024, Brook accused the investigation of engaging in 'moral policing' outside of its remit, claiming the girl was not manipulated but 'knew what she wanted'. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found his lack of remorse, as well as his 'attempt to minimise the impact of his behaviour of Pupil A', as 'evidence of a real risk of repetition'. The relationship began in early 2019 after Brook asked Pupil A to sit on his lap during a coach trip. A few weeks later, he sent a message wishing her luck for her A-Level exam. By the summer, the pair were messaging frequently. Pupil A said the messages were friendly in nature. But by December, the pair were meeting up at least once a week. They would meet just outside town after school. She said the meetings became 'quite intimate'. The following month, Brook picked the pupil up from work in his van, drove them down country roads into a remote car park and told her he had strong feelings for her. She said she knew the comments were 'weird' but she felt 'flattered'. A few weeks later, he took her to a car park again and kissed her multiple times. Pupil A said she initially felt 'conflicted and shocked' by Brook's advances. From March, they started having sex in the back of his van. Pupil A said they would 'park up, put the back seats down, pull the curtains round, then he would tell me to lie down and take my clothes off and we would have sex'. He then began to tell her he loved her, as well as buying her cans of alcohol. After Pupil A left for university, Brook began visiting her. During these visits, which were during a national lockdown, he would buy her alcohol, they would drink together and allegedly smoke marijuana, and they would sleep together. Pupil A described the relationship at that point as 'sexual' in nature. The pair would discuss politics, human rights and his longtime passion for Tibetan sovereignty. Pupil A said that by that point, she 'felt like a large part of the relationship was about sex for him'. It eventually ended between February and April 2021. The prohibition order stops Brook teaching in any classroom in England.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Hexham teacher banned over sexual relationship with pupil
A teacher who "sought to exploit his position of trust" to begin a sexual relationship with a sixth form pupil has been banned from the Brook, 61, who worked at Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham, continued the relationship when the teenager went on to started exchanging Facebook messages with the pupil and later bought her a Christmas present before telling her he had developed feelings towards her.A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found his behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected. The teacher first sent a message to the girl, referred to as Pupil A, a message wishing her luck for her exams, the panel Messenger and WhatsApp conversations continuing over the summer months as the pair became A told the panel she began meeting up with Mr Brook once a week the following winter and said he "would hug me, mostly to just warm me up, but it became quite intimate and extended and he would invite me to put my hands under his shirt".Later, when she was revising for her mock exams in Mr Brook's classroom, he admitted he had feelings for her, Pupil A stated that the next day Mr Brook picked her up in his van, drove along country roads and pulled into a car park where he told her he really liked her and had not had feelings that strong her evidence, she said she knew this "was weird but she felt flattered". 'Moral policing' Their sexual relationship started the same month with Mr Brook driving them somewhere remote in his A said they would "park up, put the back seats down, pull the curtains round, then he would tell me to lie down and take my clothes off and we would have sex".The panel heard that in May or June of that year, Mr Brook told the girl he loved started university that September, with Pupil A saying the "relationship was sexual when he came to see me and he would bring wine, beer or gin and tonic in a can".In his written response to the panel, Mr Brook described the TRA investigation into events during Pupil A's time at university as "moral policing", adding it was a "private matter governed by privacy laws between two consenting adults and should stay that way".The panel determined that, even though Pupil A may have been over the age of 18 when the majority of the findings against Mr Brook took place, she was still considered to be a student at the school until 31 August of the year she said that "clearly amounted to a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries".Although accepting Pupil A's evidence that the relationship was consensual, the panel said there had been a "clear power imbalance throughout" and that continued when the girl moved to said Mr Brook had shown "a complete lack of insight and remorse" and that there was no evidence his "concerning and deep-seated attitude to personal relationships with pupils would, or could, change".The prohibition order imposed prevents him from teaching in England again. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Fox News
Alabama Christian school teacher, 35, accused of sexual relationship with student
A teacher at an Alabama Christian school was arrested Friday after she was accused of having a sexual relationship with a student, an incident the school described as "heart rending for all involved." North River Christian Academy, a private Pre-K-12 school in Tuscaloosa, on Friday posted a statement online about the arrest and allegations against "a former employee." The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that deputies arrested Sarah Huggins Logan, 35, on Friday and charged her with one count of a school employee engaging in a sex act. The parents of the student alerted authorities on Wednesday that their juvenile daughter was involved in a sexual relationship with a teacher, Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) Capt. Jack Kennedy told Fox News Digital in a statement. The VCU's Sexual Assault Section launched an investigation and obtained warrants for Logan after conducting interviews and recovering evidence, the statement said. No details about the victim or what evidence investigators uncovered were immediately provided. Kennedy confirmed that Logan was no longer an employee of the school. The school said it was made aware of the allegations earlier in the week and alerted state and local authorities. The school added it has been cooperating with the agencies' investigation. "Our first concern is for the health and welfare of our students, staff, and families," the school said. "Please respect the privacy of all these parties. Contributing to rumors and suspicions profits no one and contributes only to the hardships experienced by those impacted." "It should be self-evident to say that this incident is heart rending for all involved," the school continued. "This includes especially the families directly impacted. We have prayed for them and encouraged our entire school family to hold them up in their personal prayers. This situation is easy for no one; there are only degrees of difficulty." Kennedy said that there may be more victims and encouraged them to speak with investigators. The sheriff's investigation is ongoing, and more charges could be forthcoming.
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Christian school teacher is arrested for alleged sexual relationship with female student
A married teacher at a Christian school has been arrested for allegedly carrying on a sexual relationship with a female student. Sarah Huggins Logan, a 35-year-old teacher at North River Christian Academy in Alabama, was charged on Friday over the alleged misconduct. It is understood the parents of the alleged juvenile victim learned of the twisted affair on July 16. They allegedly alerted the school and authorities that their underage daughter had been involved in a sexual relationship with a teacher. The school said in a statement they 'notified the appropriate state and local authorities' and had 'cooperated completely with the responsible agencies.' An investigation was immediately launched by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Violent Crimes Unit. Logan, who appears to be married with two children, was nabbed after a series of interviews and after police obtained 'other evidence', authorities said. Now, authorities have expressed concerns that there could be more victims and are urging anyone with further information to come forward. She was charged with being a school employee engaging in a sex act, but more charges could soon be added. It is unclear how old the student involved was. It is also unclear when the alleged offending took place. The school said: 'It should be self-evident to say that this incident is heart rending for all involved. This includes especially the families directly impacted. 'We have prayed for them and encouraged our entire school family to hold them up in their personal prayers. This situation is easy for no one; there are only degrees of difficulty. 'Our first concern is for the health and welfare of our students, staff, and families. 'Contributing to rumors and suspicions profits no one and contributes only to the hardships experienced by those impacted.'
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Irish Times
‘He was in a position of power': Student tells inquiry she realised later that ‘sexual relationship' with teacher made her vulnerable
A Teaching Council inquiry panel has retired to consider allegations of a sexual relationship between a teacher and a student. The complainant has told the Teaching Council that when she was an 18-year-old student a teacher at her school had sexual encounters with her on four to six occasions between March and June 2018. She also alleges she and the teacher sent communications to each other on Snapchat, the social media app, many of which were of a sexually explicit nature, including photos of a penis and nude photos of the complainant. The teacher was not present at the proceedings on Tuesday. READ MORE At the inquiry the complainant gave evidence about six videos that were played to the panel at the inquiry and were recorded by a trusted university friend of the complainant in March 2022 on the friend's phone. The complainant said she began seeing matters from an adult perspective during her first year in college. It was then she came to believe the teacher's conduct breached ethical standards. 'It was quite difficult to recognise that I was in a vulnerable situation. I have a lot of guilt. [The teacher] was in a position of power. He was trained. He could have dealt with the situation differently,' she said. She said she was attending counselling over the interactions and was now scared of seeing the teacher. The complainant further gave evidence that the teacher also followed her on Instagram and 'liked' her posts between 2020 and 2022. She also said a girl in her year in the school sent her a picture from March 2017 of a Tinder profile under the name 'Muinteoir', which the complainant alleges was that of the teacher. She claims it shows both parties had 'matched' with each other. After hearing legal advice, the panel has retired to consider the claims and whether, if proven, these amount to a finding of professional misconduct and/or a breach of the Code of Conduct for Teachers.
