British teacher fails to have false rape claims struck from his record

Guilty until proven innocent, apparently. This could happen to anybody -- and do lots of harm to the victim. It cost this man his job

A teacher who says he was falsely accused of sexually abusing pupils yesterday lost a legal battle to clear his name. John Pinnington, 59, was told that all potential future employers must be told about the accusations, even though they were never proved. Mr Pinnington was fired from his job as deputy head of a college for autistic young adults when the allegations, made when he worked at another college, came to light, in 2005. He was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour with three young men. Police investigated, but in each case no action was taken.

Mr Pinnington's lawyer, Tania Griffiths QC, told the High Court that one of alleged victims 'could not stop telling lies' and claimed he made the complaint simply to 'get attention'. Nonetheless, the fact that the allegations were made meant that he lost his job. Since then Mr Pinnington has failed to find a job because the abuse allegations appear on his file at the Criminal Records Bureau, which issues certificates for everyone seeking to work with children.

The father of two argued that the certificate produced by the CRB was 'based on lies' but had nonetheless cost him 'my life and my livelihood'. He argued that police CRB checks should only include unsubstantiated abuse allegations if there is good cause to believe they are true.

Yesterday, the High Court dismissed his attempt to prevent Thames Valley Police from including the information in the CRB check. Although Lord Justice Richards agreed that the accusations against Mr Pinnington, of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, had 'serious weaknesses' and 'could not be substantiated', he said that did not entirely negate them. He ruled there was nothing unlawful about the force's actions and said that future employers 'should be aware' of the accusations, however weak and unreliable they are. 'In relation to employment with children or vulnerable adults, it is information of which an employer should be aware. 'It is then for the employer to decide whether the employment of the person concerned involves an unacceptable risk'.

But Chris Keates, of the teachers' union NASUWT, said: 'This shows that even when someone is cleared of all allegations made against them, there is no escape as far as working with children is concerned. 'It simply cannot be right that even when somebody has been through an investigation, and they are found to be innocent, they can never clear their name. 'The teacher in this case will have to live his life with this hanging over him.'

Original report here



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