Police have dropped charges - how do I 'forget' about all of this?

[WoodlandElf1]

I have to be a bit careful in what I say here but really tricky situation. Someone I work with, work associated with children, was accused of some terrible sexually abusive, grooming and rape crimes against a child. The police launched an investigation, but 6mths later said they felt the case wouldn't stand up in court. He will now return to working with me.
I don't believe he is innocent. Due to my connection to the case I know far more details than any other colleagues, and my logic, gut and everything in me tells me he is lying and has gotten away with this. I believe in innocent until guilty, I really do, but I also know the shocking statistics of actually how many paedophiles end up in court! When he was accused he kept changing his story and talked about it with such a sense of superior arrogance, it felt like seeing a completely different person - someone I'd never met, as if the mask slipped. I can't explain it I just know there is so much more to this than he says, and I believe the family. But I need to now set that aside and work with this individual again, I act in a type of mentor capacity - and I just can't do it if he returns. I cannot wilfully let him work with children again and I cannot support it. I know IABU - it's not my place to decide if he is guilty or not, but I am not an irrational person, or an overly emotional person, but nothing about this sits right with me. What do I do?

Not being stupid on purpose but if your place of work dd say you’re not coming back would he have any comeback law wise?

I don't think he could sue for unfair dismissal - it's rational and reasonable for an employer to say something along the lines of 'we are not prepared to take the risk of employing you in a sensitive position.' Because the risk that he is a predator is too great and the consequences to the vulnerable people the organisation serves are too awful.

I'm very much a firm believer in innocent until proven guilty. You cannot know how damaging a false allegation can be until you've experienced it for yourself.

Not long after I started my current job I was accused of racism by someone who was spreading lies and rumours to my colleagues. I was called into the office and told I'd been investigated for the last 2 months without my knowledge, my every move watched, and that thankfully the allegation was completely baseless and that I wasn't going to be sacked or disciplined.

Still, it took me a long time to convince people I really wasn't a racist and it left me seriously doubting myself. I even went out of my way to be pro-discrimination towards the accuser's race just to ensure I wasn't seen to be racist. Ironically the accusation had made me be racist by favouring this particular race to the exclusion of all others.

The accuser got off with a slap on the wrist.

Yes you think he did it, but a jury has 12 people for good reason. One person cannot be judge, jury and executioner. The CPS don't even think there is enough evidence to take the case forward. Maybe there isn't enough evidence because he's innocent?

The CPS don't even think there is enough evidence to take the case forward. Maybe there isn't enough evidence because he's innocent?

Or maybe, as is often the case, the knowledge the OP has is inadmissable. Have you ever tried to get a rapist convicted? HArd enough to do as a grown woman with CCTV evidence (take my word for it). Can you imagine how hard the allegations the OP is talking about would be to prove when you know that most people would say "Well its her word against his and she is a troubled kid so she might be attention seeking......" You only need to read some threads on here to see how little notice some people take of young people.

I'm so sorry you are in this situation OP. I think your gut instinct about this man is probably right. Not Enough Evidence doesn't equal Not Guilty.

I would be taking this further with your supervisor. However, as hard as it may be for you, the children he works with in the future may be safer with someone who suspects him looking over his shoulder.

Echo previous posts here op. I'm not sure why you think you have to keep this information confidential?

Also as the burden of proof in employment claims is balance of probability an employer can dismiss even where there was no prosecution.

I would speak to the LADO. It's this kind of case that safeguarding rules are there to deal with - I think we don't say his name on here but he was never prosecuted but plenty of people turned a blind eye. If you just resign that means he's still able to have contact with children.

If you give your boss an ultimatum that might help him to man up too.

Xx

as pyong stated above

he hasnt had a trial doesnt mean hes innocent at all the cps can and do make wrong deicions all the time

Speak to the LADO.
It is possible to sack people following serious investigations of safeguarding nature if the person is meant to have unsupervised contact with DC as part of their job. However it is likely to end up at an industrial tribunal so it needs doing very formally and correctly. A detailed external risk assessment is often a good start and I have known school organise these when there have been serious allegations against teachers that haven't gone to trial. There are professionals that will assess the potential level of risk an adult may pose to DC without any conviction being obtained.

could you call one of the safegaruding charities even nspcc and tell them exactly what you have in your op post.
not being able to prove it doesn't mean he is onnocent and it sounds like you think he is not with much certainty. one of those organisation might be able to guid you into what to do next.

Would you feel that way if someone complained about you and you were sacked regardless of the outcome.

I would be devastated not to be able to work with the lovely people I work with. But if there was credible evidence that I probably wasn't safe to work with youth/vulnerable people, regardless of if it met 'reasonable doubt' levels, I would accept it. Because I'd rather the field was safer for the people we work with. And for the field to be safe, we need the workers to be above reproach. A far higher burden than 'reasonable doubt'.

I've never met good workers who didn't understand that. Predators and arseholes, yes. Good workers, no.

Sounds like you work in the voluntary sector. Don't go to the funders or LADO without talking to your manager as some are suggesting. This is seriously undermining of your manager. Talk to your manager and say you are concerned that the employee returning may break safeguarding legislation and that the organisation needs to seek advice from LADO. Then offer to contact them yourself.
I suspect your manager is just a bit clueless. They may have only worked in organisations before where there is a HR Dept and so not understand what they should be doing. Other people to contact for advice could be ACAS.
If your manager says there is no need to contact anyone for advice, then you can whistleblow by contacting the LADO. Your organisation legally needs to have a whistleblowing policy. Follow that.
I know what I am talking about OP and you have got some seriously bad advice on this thread.

Also it is far more likely he will get sacked if everyone including you follows the correct procedures.

Also whether he is innocent or not is besides the point. Any organisation in this position needs to go through a proper procedure, including taking outside advice, to assess whether he is safe to work with vulnerable children/people. The process should be gone through even if the person was a victim of malicious rumours. The organisation has to be sure he is a safe person. If anything happened while this person was at work, and the organisation had not done this, they could be rightly sued.
So ignore those talking about how he could be innocent. This process should happen whatever the case.

This is actaully why people accused of stuff need annominty because there are people on here that basically mean accussed = must be guilty so even if not found guilty or not enough evidence to even take to court they can never work again is bloody wrong on so many levels.

Fine if he works with vulnerable people but by the sound of the OP she just does not want to be working in the same office. If he worked with children, disabled people or the elderly fine but a normal job no way should he be losing his job.

aba is right, if you are working as a colleague with him your manager needs to talk to the LADO, if you are managing him you should talk to your safeguarding lead in your organisation alongside consulting LADO. You can always ring the NSPCC for advice but the more generic helpline may need to refer this to,one of their more specialist teams.

Fine if he works with vulnerable people but by the sound of the OP she just does not want to be working in the same office. If he worked with children, disabled people or the elderly fine but a normal job no way should he be losing his job.

He works with vulnerable children. Maybe read the OP before you start with your Daily Mail crap?

Someone I work with, work associated with children, was accused of some terrible sexually abusive, grooming and rape crimes against a child

@worridmum you don't understand the point. The risk of someone who might pose a risk is enough. The right of children to have safe, appropriate workers is VASTLY more important than someone's right to work in a specific job.

This person can work. Just not with children or vulnerable people.

I support rental and work rights of people coming out of prison. I support working and living. Just not working with vulnerable people.

And statistically he could well be an offender. Probably is. Doesn't mean he is, certainly doesn't mean he's not.

Speak to your safeguarding lead, ring LADO and OFSTED if they are your governing body. Do everything you can to be heard. Good luck x

Your company should conduct its own investigation. Much lower standard of proof required.

He should not be given the green light to return. There could be all sorts of reasons this isn't being pursued.

There is also now a Victim's Right to Review so that the decision to discontinue can be looked at again.

Also this talk about being proved innocent is odd. Theres no such thing. The police dont have a charge for that! If you were already charged Which you would have to be in this case to give them tine to gather evidence, then no further action is the only option really.

You need to tread carefully about sharing knowledge with funders etc as this could put you in a difficult legal position.

And not sure why people think the company can investigate?

Sounds like the complaint came from his own family and not within work. Are the company meant to interview them etc?

How odd.

If the complaint arose at work then it would be different but an allegation by family?

I think your gut instinct about this man is probably right

How can you say this? You don't know the op, you don't know thr man, you don't know the case. You've no clue if she's right or not. She's some anonymous random who has posted a few lines on the Internet.

Op, the charges have been dropped. As such he is entitled to come back to work. People do not get fired simply because someone makes an accusation. It could be true or false. The police are unable to prove it after investigating. If you feel you can't work with him then you need to resign.

A person's live is not 'ruined' by them being barred from working with vulnerable adults and children on the grounds of 'false' accusations - they can work in all sorts of different areas, earn a good living, etc. Think of that piece of shit US judge - if he had been dropped from the Supreme Court he would still have his lucrative existing career.

I do some admin work related to education, and have had some training/experience WRT getting rid of people accused of something which did not get as far as legal proceedings. There is precedent for booting them out on the grounds of risk/probability, it's not necessary for them to be proven guilty in a court of law.

So the person is suddenly, on the basis of unproven suspicion, not allowed to work at something he loves, no job, no money, no career he may have trained for over years. Losing the job means other people are suspicious - no smoke without fire. His wife leaves him and takes the kids - a devastated ruined man he either kills himself or pops back to work with a shotgun.

Ye gods! ANYONE who is caught committing vile crimes may well kill themselves out of shame. Does that mean we don't prosecute anyone, ever?

As has been said, safeguarding is paramount and OPs organisation should contact LADO, if only to be sure of their own legal standing. If they make a false move, and that could include keeping him in his job, they too could be sued, lose funding, put other clients at risk.

As with ALL safeguarding issues the only correct move is to pass any queries up the food chain until someone who knows the situation ad the law makes a fully informed decision.

That's it! All else is conjecture and should be shut down, immediately.