Teacher banned for sexual relationship with pupil

A Shropshire teacher has been banned from the profession indefinitely after he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a pupil in the early 2000s.

Lee Butler, 49, confirmed to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a pupil at St Augustine's Catholic High School and Sixth Form, Worcestershire, from 2003.

He also admitted dishonesty when the allegations were brought to light in September 2020, when he was working at Bridgnorth Endowed School in Shropshire.

The panel said he told his employer that the relationship began when the pupil left St Augustine's. Butler admitted being dishonest about this.

The panel heard that the pupil was enrolled at St Augustine's and first encountered Butler in September 2001 when he became her media studies teacher at AS Level.

She said the relationship had begun in April or May 2003 after he gave her a lift home following social drinks with others. She said he had initiated the relationship.

The panel heard that the pair began spending personal time together, and the relationship occurred away from the school premises - primarily at Butler's house.

The student ended the relationship in April or May 2004, having left the school the previous summer.

In 2020, a third party reported the relationship to police, which prompted an inquiry into Butler.

This was when he informed his employer at the time in Bridgnorth, and stated that the relationship had started when the pupil had left the school.

The panel heard that the pupil said in hindsight she considered the relationship to have been inappropriate, but did not believe it had had a negative impact on her wellbeing since.

Butler told the panel that the prevailing culture of the school in 2003 was that staff and pupils did socialise with each other.

He said that when the allegations came forward in 2020, he was in fear and panicked which caused him to lie about when the relationship started.

The panel said that although in 2003 there "did not appear to be an express prohibition against a teacher having a sexual relationship with a current pupil", it did not mean that it was acceptable "in any shape or form".

Butler was banned from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.

He also cannot apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

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