AN attorney who has represented more than one educator on sex offence charges says those individuals, after being acquitted, have returned to the classroom, albeit at different institutions.

The prominent attorney, who spoke with the Jamaica Observer on condition of anonymity, said the situation holds true, “not just in the classroom, but in the workplace, generally”, as “no real background check is done”.

The attorney, in recounting personal experiences, said her own practice has brought her face to face with that reality, with one such case involving two teachers charged on child sex assault matters, one of whom she witnessed teaching at another school before his case was disposed of when she visited that institution for an unrelated matter.

“I represented a teacher who was charged with several counts of rape and grievous sexual assault of a grade six student at [a] primary school. I went there to do a locus visit [short for locus in quo, a legal term referring to an official, on-site visit by a judge, magistrate, or jury to the specific location where a disputed event or crime took place] and, to my surprise, [I] saw another teacher who I was also representing and who had, at the time, not one, but two matters in court for rape,” the attorney told the Sunday Observer.

She said the teacher on whose account she had visited the school, who was charged for rape and grievous sexual assault, “was eventually acquitted and, to the best of my knowledge, is again employed at another primary school”.

“Most of the clients who are teachers accused of misconduct, once acquitted, return to the classroom, albeit in a different school,” the attorney pointed out.

She, in the meantime, noted that requiring police records of recruited individuals is not sufficient to verify that individuals placed in positions of trust have spotless antecedents. She emphasised that the absence of a criminal record does not mean that an individual has not been charged and placed before the courts for a crime as the reality is that they might not have been convicted for any number of reasons, such as the case being dropped because the victim is unable to testify, or insufficient evidence. In this event, she said, the police record would not reflect the dismissed charges.

The absence of a criminal record, according to one attorney, does not mean that an individual has not been charged and placed before the courts for a crime.

She further pointed out that police records, if obtained before a matter is disposed of, will show that the person was charged and has a case before the court. However, she noted, once the matter ends in the individual’s favour, that person obtains a letter from the court which is then given to the [Criminal] Records Office, which then removes the charge from the individual’s record.

“It then comes back ‘clean’, no record of arrest is shown,” the attorney explained.

In agreeing that this situation, ultimately, does not allow an employee to see the “full picture”, she said it also prevents stigmatisation of someone who is wrongfully accused and arrested but who prevailed in court.

The attorney’s account gives credence to indications last month by director of investigations, inspections and compliance at the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) Keisha Rodriguez-Mills, who called on school officials to “be more aware” against the background of what she said have been numerous allegations of educators sexually violating students.

Speaking at a recent discussion series put on by the University of Technology, Jamaica centring on the theme ‘Strengthening the system: Protecting our children from child sexual abuse’, Rodriguez-Mills said while there is an increase in persons reporting child sexual abuse — among them reports from youngsters — there are still hurdles.

“What we’re also seeing is that a lot of reports are coming in about teachers allegedly violating students. What we’re also seeing as well is a lot of grooming, or alleged grooming, affecting males. But the males, being adolescents, they’re not reporting it, and people are saying that they’re just being ‘girly’ in reporting.

A case can be dropped because the victim is unable to testify or there is insufficient evidence.

“So it’s normally another child who is aware of [the] abuse who is making the report on behalf of their friend, which is a good thing, which is saying we, as a society, are educating our children to say and to note when something is amiss,” she told the forum.

According to Rodriguez-Mills, some school administrators have adopted a false sense of comfort when such individuals resign, only to be rudely awakened when the educator repeats the inappropriate behaviour at another institution.

In calling for principals to conduct “scheduled orientation exercises on appropriate behaviours and what should be done” with potential workers and teachers, Rodriguez-Mills said the OCA has seen the unsavoury outcomes when this is not done.

“What we find from the OCA side — when we’re investigating a case against a teacher — is that the teacher just ups and resigns. So when the case is being investigated the schools will say, ‘Oh, we have gotten rid of the problem because the teacher has resigned,’ but what has happened is that the teacher has gone to another school. And then there is no record to follow, and you’ll find out that it is only when the teacher continues the behaviour at the next school then the new principal will call the other principal and say, ‘Okay, your teacher is at my school and I’m getting this complaint,’ ” she pointed out.

Under the 2025 Jamaica Teaching Council Bill, which seeks to regulate and professionalise the teaching workforce through licensing and a formal code of practice, educators must undergo mandatory criminal background checks and meet “fit and proper” standards to be registered or licensed. Under the Bill, which is yet to be passed into law due to disagreements over its provisions, teachers will be required to consent to these checks, and any convictions for disqualifying offences (carrying two plus years’ imprisonment) prevent them from teaching.

The Bill applies to — (a) a person who teaches in an early childhood institution; (b) a person who teaches in a school, whether in a public educational institution or in an independent school; (c) an instructor; (d) a guidance counsellor or dean of discipline, whether in a public educational institution or in an independent school; (e) a person who teaches in an approved home education programme, including a parent who teaches his own child and no other child, at home; (f) a private tutor, whether practising full-time or part-time; (g) a person who teaches in an education programme that prepares persons to become teachers; (h) an inspector; (i) a principal; and (j) such other persons as may be designated by the minister, by order, published in the Gazette. It, however, does not apply to a person who teaches on an ad hoc voluntary basis, without pay, reward, or other consideration as it is presently framed.

Subject to the Bill, every person who, on or after the appointed day, teaches or proposes to teach in a school or other educational setting to which this Act applies, shall apply in the prescribed form and manner to the council to be registered to do so. In the case of a person who intends to teach in an early childhood institution, a consent form signed by the applicant for the council to conduct a criminal record check on the applicant in connection with the application is among the documentation required.

According to one attorney, most clients who are teachers accused of misconduct, once acquitted, return to the classroom.