Woman Barnfield teacher banned for life after affair with 15-year-old girl pupil at former school

A 28-YEAR-OLD woman teacher from Luton has been banned from the country’s classrooms for life after disciplinary findings that she had a “sexually motivated relationship” with a 15-year-old girl student while teaching in Ontario, Canada.

Among other things Carmel Rouhani shared a bed with the girl say the National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) findings.

And they say that when she was being considered for a teaching post, which she began at Barnfield South Academy in Luton on September1, 2013 she failed to disclose the affair or that she had been the subject of an investigation over it by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Now, after the NCTL hearing in Coventry, she has been banned from teaching for life in a decision taken on behalf of Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan.

In announcing the ban , NCTL Deputy Director, Alan Meyrick, said: “in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against her, I have decided that Miss Carmel Rouhani shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.”

The NCTL panel found Rouhani guilty of engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the girl while she was teaching in Canada between 2011 and 2012, including exchanging some 35,000 texts with the girl and sharing a bed with her.

The findings say that in one 12 hour period Rouhani and the girl exchanged 264 texts and one of them read: “Omg I love u anyway!!! Finallyyy”.

And the findings say that Canadian police who carried out an investigation found another message from Rouhani to the girl in which she said: “The whole point of me getting into bed with u was to keep u warm.”

Rouhani, who the findings say acknowledged that the relationship between her and the girl was “inappropriate”, had denied sharing a bed with the girl. However, the panel found that on the basis of the evidence and on the balance of probabilities she had.

The panel also found that Rouhani had deliberately failed to disclose when she began teaching at Barnfield that she was the subject of the allegations relating to the girl and was under investigation in Canada.

They say the “only inference to be drawn from the evidence was that her (Rouhani’s) conduct was not only inappropriate but was also sexually motivated” and that her actions were “dishonest.”

It was, they say, “unacceptable professional conduct and conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute.”

Mr Meyrick as he imposed the ban said the level and nature of Rouhani’s contact with the girl was “excessive and unacceptable.” He added that Rouhani had “shown little insight into her behaviour and had shown little remorse” though he said there appeared to be “some acceptance of the inappropriateness of her behaviour.”

Rouhani can appeal to the High Court against the findings.