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Friday 28 August 2009

Pervert Teacher Keith Ogunsola Spared Jail



I have written previously about the case of Keith Ogunsola, a Nigerian-born science teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a young schoolgirl in his charge, and who seems to have gotten away with or been 'warned' about very inappropriate behaviour many times before - dating back to 2000.

Today a judge spared him from jail - citing his bad heart. This is also the debut of this case in the mainstream media, a month and a half after I began following it here.

The judge had previously told Ogunsola that a jail sentence was inevitable - and despite praising the bravery of the young victim, clearly showed his contempt for her and the rest of us:

A science master who French kissed a 14-year-old girl and asked pupils about their sex lives was spared jail yesterday because he has a heart condition.

Keith Ogunsola, 44, grabbed the teenager in his office before kissing her as she tried to push him away.

The married father also embarrassed girl pupils during a chemistry revision class by asking if they had performed sex acts on their boyfriends.

Ogunsola had been warned last month that he faced an inevitable prison sentence.

But Judge Martyn Zeidman, QC, suspended a 12-week jail term for 12 months after reading medical reports. The judge said: 'Certainly what you have done doesn't deserve a death sentence.

'I'm just persuaded that it would be right in the circumstances of this case to suspend the sentence of imprisonment.

'You will never again be employed as a school teacher. My primary concern is to protect members of the public and other potential pupils.'

The judge praised the victim's courage, adding: 'I want to pay tribute to the girl who bravely made this complaint. She's a very impressive young lady.'

Ogunsola was banned indefinitely from working with under-18s and will be placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.

Snaresbrook Crown Court in East London heard how Ogunsola struck at the school where he taught in Ilford, Essex, on February 27 last year.

Describing her ordeal in Ogunsola's office, the girl said: 'He put his arms around my waist and said, "Do you want a kiss?"

'He pulled me close and then kissed me and put his tongue in my mouth.

'I pushed him away. He pulled me really close. He was holding my wrists and he kissed me again.'

She said she was 'shocked' by Ogunsola's advances and simply 'froze'. She said Ogunsola asked her: 'Aren't you supposed to be my Valentine?'

The girl said she reminded Ogunsolahe was married with children. 'I said, "You have got a wife and kids and I have got a boyfriend". He said, "Dump your boyfriend".'

The girl said Ogunsola had asked her about her love life, and added that other girls at the secondary school had described him as a 'pervert'.

Jurors heard how Ogunsola asked other girl pupils of 14 and 15 whether they had performed sex acts on their boyfriends. He also warned the youngsters that boys were 'only after one thing'.

A jury convicted Ogunsola, of Banstead, Surrey, of sexual assault but cleared him of an attempted

The former headmaster of the school in Surrey revealed Ogunsola had been warned about his conduct with girl pupils prior to the alleged assaults in 2000.

2005. sexual assault on a girl of 15 at the same school in February 2006. Jurors also acquitted Ogunsola of two indecent assaults on teenage girls at a school he taught at in Carshalton, Surrey, between January and May 2000.

Ogunsola left the school in Surrey in 2001 before stints at Islington Green School, North London, and the Pimlico Academy in Westminster before moving to Ilford in, Essex, on February 27 last year.

Describing her ordeal in Ogunsola's office, the girl said: 'He put his arms around my waist and said, "Do you want a kiss?"

'He pulled me close and then kissed me and put his tongue in my mouth.

'I pushed him away. He pulled me really close. He was holding my wrists and he kissed me again.'

She said she was 'shocked' by Ogunsola's advances and simply 'froze'. She said Ogunsola asked her: 'Aren't you supposed to be my Valentine?'

The girl said she reminded Ogunsolahe was married with children. 'I said, "You have got a wife and kids and I have got a boyfriend". He said, "Dump your boyfriend".'

The girl said Ogunsola had asked her about her love life, and added that other girls at the secondary school had described him as a 'pervert'.

Jurors heard how Ogunsola asked other girl pupils of 14 and 15 whether they had performed sex acts on their boyfriends. He also warned the youngsters that boys were 'only after one thing'.

A jury convicted Ogunsola, of Banstead, Surrey, of sexual assault but cleared him of an attempted sexual assault on a girl of 15 at the same school in February 2006. Jurors also acquitted Ogunsola of two indecent assaults on teenage girls at a school he taught at in Carshalton, Surrey, between January and May 2000.

Ogunsola left the school in Surrey in 2001 before stints at Islington Green School, North London, and the Pimlico Academy in Westminster before moving to Ilford in2005.

The former headmaster of the school in Surrey revealed Ogunsola had been warned about his conduct with girl pupils prior to the alleged assaults in 2000.

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