A TEACHER cleared nearly seven years ago of sexually abusing pupils at a special needs school has applied for a High Court order reinstating him to his employment.
The man, who is married with children, was suspended from his job in 1997 following allegations he had abused a number of pupils in the special needs school. He has always denied the claims.
An investigation by the HSE into the allegations concluded he was a risk to children but, in 2002, he was acquitted by a jury of sex abuse charges following a 19-day trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Witnesses who gave evidence at the trial on his behalf included a large number of teachers and two parents of the children he had taught.
Despite the acquittal, the man has remained suspended on full pay for nearly 12 years and wants to be reinstated so his good name and reputation can be fully restored, his counsel Peter Finlay SC said yesterday. The teacher broke down crying and had to leave court, assisted by his wife, after the case opened before Mr Justice John Hedigan.
Mr Finlay said the case involved “one of the worst injustices I have ever seen” with his client first suspended on March 5th, 1997 after which Garda and HSE inquiries took place.
The HSE had wrongly decided his client was a risk to children, Mr Finlay said.
A senior HSE social worker who later carried out an assessment of the teacher had concluded he was not a danger to children, Mr Finlay said.
In the action, it is argued the board of management of the school failed to hold an independent inquiry despite requests by the teacher to do so. It is claimed interviews conducted during a HSE inquiry were carried out by persons lacking the necessary expertise and skill required.
The hearing continues.