PROM night teacher Isabelle Graham gave a 17-year-old pupil a “passionate” 30-second kiss as she headed home in the early hours.
The devout Christian, who was struck off last week, claimed her drink had been spiked and that she had no recollection of sleeping with the boy at an Edinburgh Travelodge.
But the official report into the case, published today, casts new doubt on the 27-year-old’s version of events.
According to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) document, Mrs Graham “did not appear heavily intoxicated” as she turned to kiss the boy, known only as Pupil A.
The GTCS also discloses that Mrs Graham discussed with a colleague the subject of inappropriate conduct with pupils at Whitburn Academy, West Lothian, the Thursday before the prom.
And the report discloses that Pupil A had tweeted before the prom about his intentions to have sexual contact with a teacher.
Mrs Graham was barred from the profession last week after the GTCS, following a hearing in Edinburgh, found that she had repeatedly “engaged in sexual activity” with the Pupil A, after giving him alcohol and sharing a bed with him.
The GTCS report gives new detail about what happened afterwards.
It quotes Detective Sergeant Keith Mailer, who was involved in the police investigation into Mrs Graham’s conduct, as saying: “When the respondent left the Travelodge at approximately 4:30am, she and pupil A walked to the lift area and the Respondent did not appear heavily intoxicated. She was not stumbling.”
The detective adds: “The Respondent reached the door as if to open it, paused, turned to face pupil A and they kissed for about 30 seconds.”
DS Mailer described the manner of the kiss as “passionate”.
Mrs Graham went to hospital in Glasgow the following day, said the GTCS, where she told staff she had no recollection of events between 10pm and 5am and was worried her drink had been spiked.
But the police officer, according to the GTCS, judged from CCTV that: “Where the respondent and pupil A were seen together, they seemed happy in each other’s company. They appeared, from their presentation, to be people who were intimate with each other.”
The report also contains evidence from a colleague who had given Mrs Graham a lift to school on June 6, the day after prom.
It reads: “The colleague said that she had not noticed anything out of the ordinary about the respondent on that morning and she seemed relaxed speaking about the prom, hockey and plans for the weekend.
“She said that the respondent had said that she had left the prom about 10:30pm or 11:00pm.
“She also mentioned a conversation that she had had with the respondent on the Thursday, before the prom. It was a conversation about inappropriate behaviour with students; the respondent had spoken about the consequences of such behaviour even if it was untrue.”
The GTCS report also reveals that Pupil A intended to “fondle” a teacher at the prom.
Pupil A tweeted that he was “gonny get so jaked [drunk] at prom” and “try to fondle” a different teacher.
The report confirms that the Procurator Fiscal declined to bring the case to court, citing a lack of “corroborating evidence”.
The GTCS report reveals that Mrs Graham has been prevented from reapplying to be a teacher for two years.
The disciplinary panel stated in conclusion: “Members of the public would have no confidence in a teacher who engaged in sexual activity with a pupil in respect of whom she is in a position of trust. The public would be aghast if they thought that teachers were engaging in such behaviour.”
Mrs Graham resigned from her post after the allegations were made but said this was not an admission of guilt,
The newly married teacher, who recently had a baby with husband Andrew Wilkie, did not appear for any portion of the hearing despite being offered a video link interview.
She said that if the photo taken on the night of a woman in bed with the pupil on the night did feature her, she was clearly unconscious and therefore it was “posed” without her consent.
She described herself as a “victim”, also saying: “The person in the bed in the photo is clearly not in control of the situation.”
She furthermore claimed she was an “active and practising Christian” who was “waiting until marriage” before having sex.
