A teacher who was sacked after being convicted of assaulting two abusive pupils has been granted an absolute discharge by senior judges.
The ruling at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh yesterday means that Michael Barile will have to declare his criminal convictions only in exceptional circumstances.
The 53-year-old said last night he was “delighted commonsense has prevailed”.
The former maths and history teacher at Lawside Academy in West School Road, Dundee, was admonished after being found guilty of the assaults following a trial at the city’s sheriff court in 2008.
His convictions could have barred him from working with youngsters at a charity linked to Dundee United Football Club.
The decision by Lord Kingarth, sitting with Lord Mackay of Drumadoon, was made just days after Mr Barile won an out-of-court settlement from his former employer over his sacking.
He had been due to take Dundee City Council to an industrial tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal.
Mr Barile, who represents fans on the Dundee United board, said outside court: “Although it is not a complete victory, it is the best I can hope for and I feel a great sense of relief that this ordeal is finally over.
“I have no intention whatsoever of returning to teaching, as I would just feel too vulnerable to allegations in that position, but all of this should never have happened ion the first place.
“A lot of people in high places should be ashamed of themselves because of this.
“I want to start a new career with the charity United for All, which aims to do work in the community through the football club.”
Mr Barile also said he had feared he would have had to give up his role as a eucharistic minister with the Roman Catholic Church, helping to take communion to sick parishioners, if the court decision had gone against him.
He was represented by the EIS teaching union.
Union assistant secretary Drew Morrice said: “While the EIS will not comment on the specifics of any individual case, this has highlighted the intense level of pressure that teachers can be placed under by persistent provocation and abusive behaviour by pupils, and the scrutiny that may follow any physical intervention by a teacher.
“It is unacceptable for any teacher to be faced with insulting, abusive or threatening behaviour in the course of their working lives.
“Local authorities must be fully aware of their obligations to ensure a safe and secure working environment for all teachers, and parents too must take responsibility in ensuring that their children behave appropriately towards teachers.”
Mr Barile, of 474 Strathmartine Road, Dundee, lost his job with the council’s education department after he was convicted of two assaults involving pupils in December 2008.
He was found guilty of attacking a 14-year-old by grabbing hold of the front of his shirt and threatening to put him “through the blackboard” and of assaulting another boy by placing his arm across his chest to prevent him leaving the classroom.
The trial at Dundee Sheriff Court heard that a 14-year-old boy who was disrupting a maths lesson in January 2008 had told Mr Barile: “Your breath stinks.”
When the teacher was writing a note about the bad behaviour, the boy grabbed the paper from his desk. The court also heard the boy had been suspended from school on an earlier occasion for assaulting Mr Barile.
Another incident happened in a history class in May when another boy, also 14, swore at the teacher.
Although Sheriff Charles Macnair convicted Mr Barile, he told him: “I accept that you were subjected to extreme abuse.”
In November, the same judges who made yesterday’s ruling rejected Mr Barile’s attempt to overturn his assault convictions.
They said he had gone too far to argue that he was simply keeping order. But they added that the prosecution was not in the public interest, given the “disgraceful behaviour” of the boys.