A SCOTS childcare worker has been struck off after being convicted of having sex with a young service user in his care.
Mark Walker-Jones was charged under the Sexual Offences Act by Dumfries Sheriff Court in October last year and has now been found to have an “uncontrollable sexual deviancy”.
The 22-year-old worked as a residential child care worker in Auldgirth, Dumfries and Galloway, and was found to have slept with a care user who was under the age of 18 on multiple occasions.
Walker-Jones, from Eaglesfield, Dumfries and Galloway, was handed 200 hours of community service as a result of his actions which occurred between March and April last year.
Contrary to Section 42 of the Sexual Offences Act, Walker-Jones, who used to work for Scottish Rugby, was found to have committed a sexual abuse of trust.
In 2019 he was appointed as Lockerbie’s Cornet alongside his Lass and the Standard Bearer who led a cavalcade around the town boundaries during the Gala.
He currently plays rugby for Moffat RFC.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) last week ruled to strike the young carer from their register due to his conviction.
They noted that he had shown no remorse or insight into his actions and that the behaviour is likely to be repeated.
The charges to Walker-Jones stated: “You did engage in a sexual activity with or directed towards said Service User AA, a person who was under 18 years in that you repeatedly had sexual intercourse with them, contrary to Section 42 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009.”
The SSSC said: “The conviction calls into question your fitness to practise as a social service worker.
“The conviction is of an extremely serious nature. It involves criminal behaviour which demonstrates a marked and willful disregard for the safety and wellbeing of a vulnerable service user in your care.
“The behaviour is indicative of an uncontrolled sexual deviancy which compels you to sexually exploit young people in your care and abuse the trust placed in you by service users and your employer.
“The conviction is indicative of underlying values issues fundamentally incompatible with registration as a social service worker.
“Given the nature of the conviction we consider that there is a high and foreseeable risk of you repeating the behaviour should you continue to be allowed to work in social services.
“If the behaviour were to be repeated this would inevitably result in, potentially severe, psychological, emotional and physical harm to service users, raising significant public protection concerns.
“The conviction calls into question your fitness to practise as a social service worker. The public would lose confidence in the social service profession and in the SSSC as the regulator of social service workers if there was a finding of no impairment and if robust action was not taken.
“The SSSC considers a removal order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession.”
Walker-Jones today declined to comment.
