Children's worker suspended after staring at girl's breasts

A social worker has been suspended for 12 months for inappropriate behaviour which included staring at a 16-year-old girl’s breasts and asking her if she had whips and chains hidden in her wardrobe.

The behaviour took place between July 2009 and January 2010 when Christopher Mark Flatman, 50, was employed through an agency as a children’s services social worker at Hillingdon Council in London, the General Social Care Council heard.

Mr Flatman admitted offering to counsel the young woman on a Saturday (outside of normal working hours) and befriending her and a younger sister on Facebook.

At the hearing, Mr Rathod, counsel for Mr Flatman, accused the young woman of lying on behalf of her older brother, who wanted him taken off the case, as he feared being removed from the family home because of his challenging behaviour

But the committee believed the young woman and accepted that Mr Flatman had requested other family members leave the house during counselling, (they refused) and that he offered to take her to a café and for a ride in his car.

Mr Flatman also requested a picture of her in a party dress and advised her to withhold sex from her boyfriend when she told him she was having problems.

He prolonged visits when she was present and asked her to rub off a stain from a chocolate that he had been sitting on, during one of his visits.

When the young woman told him of her fear of needles, Mr Flatman said: “I’ll tie you down and prod it in you”.

These complaints had been investigated by social workers and police but there were no criminal proceedings, but Mr Flatman was prosecuted for using a mobile phone, while transporting a service user in his wife’s car.

The Council found that while most of the disputed behaviour was inappropriate, it was acceptable for Mr Flatman to tell the family that he could counsel the young woman in private and that he did not have to identify her two younger siblings as needing counselling.

They did not believe Mr Flatman’s behaviour was sexually motivated and agreed to a 12-month suspension, as the family acknowledged there had been some positive aspects to his work

Mr Flatman had been a social worker for seven years and intends returning to the profession once his suspension is over.

This article was published on the Community Care website on Tuesday, May 31, 2011.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2011/05/31/116914/Children39s-worker-suspended-after-staring-at-girl39s.htm