An Aberdeen support worker who assaulted a colleague has been removed from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register.
Godwin Ibinabho, a support worker at Inspire Donald Dewar Court in Aberdeen, grabbed his colleague from behind before touching her breast and pushing her up against a wall.
A hearing panel of the SSSC found he sexually assaulted his co-worker while they were on shift together on March 27 last year.
Ibinabho said the allegations were fabricated because he would not sign the woman’s timesheet, and he was going to report her for making a private video call.
Support worker did not admit the complaints
An SSSC hearing into the incidents took place over the course of one week, ending on June 16, with a report published today.
Ibinabho did not admit any of the six complaints against him, saying instead he was being picked on.
The hearing found that Ibinabho went into a client’s bedroom, named in the report as AA, when his colleague, named as ZZ, was putting away clean washing,
The report states: “You entered AA’s room and came up behind ZZ. You gave her
a hug around her shoulders from behind.
“You touched her bottom and pushed her towards the wall. You placed your hand on her breasts.
“ZZ asked you what you were doing. She tried to push you away. She managed to get away and left the room.”
Later the same day ZZ said that she did not want to be left along with Ibinabho. She appeared visibly distressed to colleagues.
The following day ZZ told another colleague what had happened. It was then that statements were taken from staff members.
Evidence was not ‘credible’
An interim suspension order meant that Ibinabho is no longer able to work in care services.
Claiming he was in the client’s bedroom to check bed linen, the SSSC hearing panel did not find this a “credible” explanation.
Instead, the panel said Ihinabho had engaged in “sexual misconduct” all against her will.
The panel said that ZZ could not trust Ibinahbo because she had been “sexually assaulted” by him.
The report states: “She suffered emotional distress as a result of said conduct and was still emotionally disturbed by your actions when giving evidence to the panel this week.
“The panel have decided that your actions fall far short of the codes.”
It continued: “The panel weighed up all the mitigating and aggravating factors, the need
to protect the public and to uphold proper standards of conduct and behaviour.
“Given the serious nature of the conduct and weighing all the factors mentioned above, the panel found that your fitness to practise is currently impaired on the grounds of misconduct.”
The panel agreed to remove Ibinabho from the register. He can now appeal the outcome of the panel’s decision.
