Teacher who grabbed colleague’s bottom and called it ‘banter’ banned from the classroom

A teacher who told his colleague he wanted to be “bored” by him, just as he “bored” the disorganized student he was supporting, has been banned from the classroom.

According to a report by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), Leon Osbourne made the comments in October 2023 while working as a support worker at Octavia House School in Essex.

The 35-year-old man had multiple complaints made against him by four separate staff members; these included saying he “loved it.” [she] “bent over” and grabbed someone’s butt and said she told him “I wish he had done this sooner”.

Mr Osbourne, who worked at the school between 2015 and 2023, denied blowing a kiss to a staff member during his trial, claiming the gesture was because his mustache tickled his nostrils.

The woman told the panel that Mr Osbourne once told her that he wanted to be “squeezed” by her, just as he would “squeeze” a student, and that she hugged them to support them because the rules had been broken.

He also refused to tell the same woman that he “loved her.” [she] he was leaning over,” implying that she should turn around so she could look at him while he was lecturing. [her] rascal”.

However, the panel found that the allegations were substantiated and described them as “manifestly inappropriate and unprofessional”.

The board also heard Mr Osbourne grabbed the butt of a second staff member and sent her a text saying he was “super excited”. In her messages, she described it as “flirting/joking? Something that happened between us (I love it by the way (heart eyes emoji))” and added, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to be no joke though.”

Mr Osbourne went on to call the woman a “sexy monster” and “hot thing” in a text message on a separate occasion and kissed her neck on a third occasion.

A third woman also told the panel that Mr Osbourne had commented on her butt, said her privates were “soft” and asked if she liked oral sex, all of which the panel proved.

In its decision, the board said Mr. Osbourne engaged in “a pattern of repeated sexually explicit comments and inappropriate physical contact toward four female colleagues over an extended period of time.”

“This pattern included touching colleagues’ butts, trying to kiss colleagues, asking sexual questions, making sexualized comments about colleagues’ bodies and clothing, and using terms such as ‘hot stuff’ and ‘sexy monster’.”

Adding that some behaviors took place in the presence of students, the Ministry stated that this increased the seriousness of the behavior.

Mr Osbourne was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. He has been banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.