A teacher was able to start taking lessons at an Ealing secondary school despite records showing he had been arrested and cautioned for two incidents of public masturbation.
A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) tribunal hearing, which took place on Thursday 12 September, found that the science teacher had brought the profession into disrepute.
Mr Shadie Kanj, 41, had told Featherstone High School in Southall when applying for a job that he had been cautioned for itching his groin, when he was actually caught masturbating in public twice. While a DBS check was requested by the school and returned in July 2022, it was only in October 2022 that the school became aware of the true nature of his behaviour, after the DBS had said no further action was required by them.
He was able to teach pupils before it came to light he was arrested for two alleged sex offences, which he later accepted a caution for.
Mr Kanj had exposed himself on a number of occasions in 2011 whilst employed as a teacher at Cranford Community College. The first incident took place on 5 July 2011, when a woman noticed Kanj parked in his vehicle masturbating for several minutes. The woman was concerned that there were several children around at the time.
The second incident took place only a week later on 12 July 2011, after a woman complained about a vehicle that had driven past and parked ahead of her. She told the police that she walked past ‘and in doing so had seen an individual sat in the vehicle, with his penis in his hand and masturbating’.
The police later confirmed that Mr Kanj was the driver of the vehicle. He was arrested on 30 September 2011, and accepted a caution for the offence of exposure relating to both incidents. He was subsequently dismissed by Cranford Community College.
There was evidence that the Independent Safeguarding Authority had intended to refer information it held regarding Kanj to the General Teaching Council for England, in or around 2012. However, the panel heard the the bundle of documents ‘did not contain any evidence that such a referral occurred’.
On 1 September 2022, Mr Kanj started teaching again at Featherstone High School, Southall, despite his caution for public masturbation. When applying for the role, Mr Kanj had informed the school of his criminal offence of ‘exposure’, however the panel found he did not provide a full and/or true account of his caution.
Instead of telling the school he had previously admitted to publicly masturbating on two occasions, he said: “Due to an allergic reaction near my upper thigh groin area from prescribed medicines from my GP, I stopped my car twice to try relieve the pain. Police labelled this action as being ‘exposure’.”
He then expanded on this lie in a letter to the school’s HR department. He said: “What is written on the DBS will most likely adopt the tone that it was intentional, when that was obviously not the case at all. The character reference of the Head Teacher at the time is attached and the evidence of my professional record over the last 10 years goes to support this.”
In a police interview on 15 July 2011, Kanj said he had ‘shaved his pubic hair which resulted in a rash’ which he had been scratching. When asked by police at the time if he sought medical attention, he said he had not.
Despite these admissions, Mr Kanj was able to teach prior to the DBS check results which the school received in October 2022 – a month after he started teaching science there. While a TRA report says the DBS check only came back in October 2022 – a month after he had started teaching at the school – a document seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) appears to show the checks had been completed in July 2022 so the school had done the required checks prior to him beginning teaching.
The school indicated that had they known the true nature of his criminal caution, it is ‘highly unlikely’ he’d have been hired. Although, the Department for Education states that you must check a teacher’s record before they start working at a school or college in England. Featherstone High School has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In making a final decision, the panel considered: “Mr Kanj deliberately withheld information and provided incorrect and untruthful information to the school to conceal the truth and minimise his actions. The panel concluded that Mr Kanj did so for the purposes of gaining employment.”
The panel recommended that Mr Kanj be prohibited from teaching, with a review period of three years. On behalf of the Secretary of State, Mark Cavey, Chief Executive of the TRA said: “Mr Shadie Kanj is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 18 September 2027.”
The Department of Education was also contacted for comment.
