Religious studies teacher, 33, had sex with schoolboy in the backseat of her BMW in castle car park
20 September 2024, 11:25 | Updated: 20 September 2024, 11:39
A religious studies teacher has dodged jail after having sex with a 15-year-old pupil in the back of her BMW after a boozy night out.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Siobhan McLean, 34, from Airdrie, met the 15-year-old boy in her role as head of pupil support at a secondary school in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in September 2022.
The pair met after the boy's relative received help from Ms McLean when applying for university courses and received extra tuition - sessions which the boy also attended.
However, after the family member left the school, the teacher and mother-of-one reached out to the boy on social media where they continued to exchange messages.
The court heard how on one occasion, Ms McLean - a mother-of-one - went on a boozy night out with the boy and a second person, before returning to a flat where she began kissing the teen.
The pair went on to have drunken sex later that evening.
Appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court, the teacher dodged a prison sentence and was struck off and placed on the sex offenders register.
A matter of days after the first sexual encounter in the flat, Ms McLean then arranged to meet the teen again - this time, the pair had sex in the back of her BMW.
The pair are said to have had sex after the teacher parked up in a secluded car park outside Craignethan Castle, Blackwood, Lanarkshire.
Appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court, Ms McLean's advances only came to light after the boy's mother overheard a phone call in which he said 'I love you', leaving his mother shocked.
The child claimed the call had been to a friend.
However, the child's mother reported the situation to the police after confiscated the device from her son, which revealed the personal - and often intimate messages.
After the case came to light, the teacher was swiftly dismissed by South Lanarkshire Council, with the subsequent tribunal banning her from the classroom for life.
Sheriff Liam Murphy told her: "You pled guilty to a serious offence involving a significant breach of trust.
"In the criminal justice social work report you were able to recognise the impact of this on the victim and his family.
"Taking into account all of the circumstances, I'm satisfied that there is an appropriate way to deal with you by way of an alternative to a custodial sentence but this should not detract from the gravity of your conduct."
She was tagged for 12 months and banned from having unsupervised contact with children other than her own.
The mother was also placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, as well as being banned from contacting the victim or his family for five years.
The RE teacher was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and put under supervision for three years.
According to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS): "A teacher who has been removed from the register will only be granted registration again where they demonstrate to a fitness-to-teach panel that they are now fit to teach.'
