A SCOTS teacher has been reprimanded after being caught in the possession of a stun gun.
Henry Kilgour bought the high voltage weapon online in January 2019 whilst working as a physics teacher at Lanark Grammar School in South Lanarkshire.
The secondary teacher said he was trying to purchase a toy stun gun to amuse colleagues at the school.
However, when the item arrived, Kilgour was disappointed with the quality so went on to buy a more realistic one.
The following month he was contacted by the UK Border Force who had intercepted the sale.
Following an investigation by Police Scotland, Kilgour was subsequently charged for purchasing a weapon.
In July 2021 he was then convicted of purchasing the stun gun at Hamilton Sheriff Court but later admonished for the offence in January this year, where the sheriff branded him “foolish”.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) yesterday released documents showing that Kilgour agreed to accept a reprimand from the regulator.
He assured the panel that his sole intention was to amuse his colleagues and that he never intended to use the stun gun on pupils.
The panel said: “The teacher had decided to purchase a toy ‘stun gun’ following some light-hearted discussions which had taken place with colleagues at school in late 2018.
“The teacher’s decision to purchase a toy ‘stun gun’ had been solely motivated by a desire to amuse colleagues at school.
“The teacher effected his purchase from an online retailer and stated that he had been disappointed at the quality of the delivered item.
“He stated that this disappointment led to his second online purchase of a similar but more realistic item, again with the sole purpose of amusing colleagues at school.
“He was contacted by UK Border Force officials in February 2019 who advised that they had intercepted the second purchased item, and further advised the teacher that he should destroy his initial purchase of a toy ‘stun gun’.
“The teacher stated that he complied with the request to destroy the toy ’stun gun’ and that he had been fully co-operative with both UK Border Force and Police Scotland throughout their investigations.”
Kilgour underwent a disciplinary meeting with his employer in October 2021 and was issued with a final written warning.
The GTCS documents continued: “The teacher stated that his sole intention had been to amuse colleagues at school and that he had never intended to use it on pupils or cause any harm, in particular as he had believed he was purchasing a toy.
“Whilst initially of the view that his behaviour did not constitute relevant conduct, the teacher stated that he now accepted the seriousness of the allegation following extensive reflection.
“He expressed insight into the conduct and had shown remorse for his behaviour. He submitted that no harm had been caused to any child or young person.
“The teacher stated that he not only regretted his conduct but that he was disgusted by it.”
The teaching panel concluded that Kilgour did not fulfil his professional responsibility to be a role model and said his actions were ‘behaviour of a reckless nature.’
They concluded: “The conduct constituted criminal behaviour of a reckless nature. However, no harm had been caused to any pupil nor had the conduct occurred in a school setting.
“The teacher had admitted the misconduct. The teacher had reflected on the matter, expressed genuine remorse and taken steps to remediate.
“Having regard to the circumstances of the case and the factors referred to above, the panel considered that the appropriate and proportionate way of dealing with the teacher’s case was to issue the teacher with a reprimand.”
