A 27-year-old teacher, Eppie Sprung Dawson, was found half-naked in a layby with one of her teenage students.
Dawson who has been found ‘unfit to teach’ by a disciplinary hearing in Edinburgh yesterday, has been banned from classroom for 2 years.
Though she was not present at the hearing, a statement read to the General Teaching Council for Scotland panel stated that she has agreed to being banned.
She also admitted having sex with her student, Matthew Robinson, last year December, when he was just 17
years old.
She said: “On the 9th of February I was convicted at Dumfries Sheriff Court. I engaged in sexual intercourse with him; Contrary to Section 42 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. I was sentenced on 18 September 2013 and sentenced to a Community Payback Order and made subject to the sex offenders register. I readily and willingly consent to being removed and understand that I will be prohibited from teaching for a period of two years.”
The panel chairman, John Kilpatrick, said: “The panel agrees that the registrant should be removed from the register in the light of her declarations.”
The panel has referred Sprung Dawson – who taught English at St Joseph’s College in Dumfries – to the Scottish Government to see if she should be put on a list excluding her from working with children or vulnerable adults
Earlier this year at Dumfries Sheriff Court, Sprung Dawson admitted having sex with someone under 18, while in a position of trust. She lost her job at St Joseph’s College and split from her husband of two years, Ranald, son of former Solicitor General for Scotland, Lord Sprung Dawson. It is believed that she is now living with Mr Robinson in Dumfries.
The controversial case first hit the headlines in July when she appeared at Dumfries Sheriff Court and admitted having sex with someone under 18, while in a position of trust. The pair had been at a school dance before driving to an isolated spot on the Cummertreese to Hoddam Road, near Dumfries, where they had sex.
They were caught by officers patrolling the area, just four days before Christmas last year. As well as being struck from the teaching register, Mrs Sprung Dawson was placed on the sex offenders register and ordered to receive counselling as part of a community payback order. She lost her job at St Joseph’s College in Dumfries and split from her husband of two years, Ranald Sprung Dawson, also a teacher and son of former Solicitor-General for Scotland, Lord Sprung Dawson.
Dumfries sheriff George Jamieson agreed to allow Sprung Dawson, to complete her sentence without returning to court. Speaking at the time, he said: “I fixed this review to ensure that you were complying with it. It wasn’t meant to be an easy order for you to deal with.
