Banned: Teacher who lied saying colleague sexually assaulted pupil

Sheena Boll’s ‘malicious’ false allegation against a fellow teacher ‘strikes at the very heart of the public’s trust in the profession’
17th August 2018, 2:03pm

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Banned: Teacher who lied saying colleague sexually assaulted pupil

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A teacher who rang Childline and impersonated a pupil to falsely accuse a fellow teacher of sexual assault has been banned for life.

Sheena Boll pretended to be a 14-year-old girl from Lister Community School in Newham, east London, where she worked, to make the allegation in March 2016.

Police launched an investigation into her male colleague but the accusation was traced back to Ms Boll, who was arrested and admitted making the call.

Last year, she received an 11-week suspended prison sentence, and was given 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay £250 to her victim.

Now, the 36-year-old has been prohibited from teaching indefinitely following a Teaching Regulation Agency hearing.

In its report, published today, the panel said: “Ms Boll deliberately misled other professionals and demonstrated a complete disregard for the far reaching consequences her actions would have.

“The panel considered that Ms Boll behaved in a malicious and untrustworthy way.

“She abused and took advantage of a crucial system that has at its core the protection and safeguarding of children.”

The report also noted that the investigation into the false claim used up “a significant amount of professional time and resources” that could have been spent addressing genuine child protection concerns.

During a police interview, Ms Boll said she had concerns about her colleague but did not feel able to raise them using the school’s reporting system.

However, the panel did not find this explanation “credible in any way”, and the report added: “Her actions were deceitful and she did not act out of genuine concern for pupil welfare.”

The report said that making a false allegation against a fellow teacher “strikes at the very heart of the public’s trust in the profession”.

Although the panel accepted Ms Boll had a previously good history, it did not see any references or testimonials about her teaching ability since 2015.

In recommending that she be banned, and not allowed a review period, the panel was “concerned by Ms Boll’s lack of awareness of the gravity of the situation and impact of her actions on others, particularly the victim of the offence who was her colleague”.

The panel’s recommendations were supported by Alan Meyrick, who made the final decision on behalf of the education secretary.

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