Care worker who sexually assaulted woman on shift banned from profession

A care worker from Edinburgh who sexually assaulted a woman on the job has now been struck off.

Terrence Reed had only been on the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register for just over two weeks when he assaulted a woman while on shift.

Reed was convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court under the Sexual Offences Act on May 7 last year, for an incident which occurred the previous month.

He was found to have seized hold of the woman, repeatedly touching her thigh and kissing her on her body.

Later on, Reed was found to have acted in a “threatening or abusive manner”.

He had made sexual remarks to the woman despite being asked to stop, tried to persuade her to look at his privates, locked her in a room with him and took the key out of the door to prevent her escape.

Reed also threatened her with violence.

The SSSC found Reed’s fitness to practice was impaired due to his conviction.

The report stated that Reed had only been working in the social care sector for around six months and had only been registered with the SSSC for just over two weeks before the incident occurred.

The SSSC said that, as the misconduct happened so early into Reed’s career, they could not be assured that the behaviour would not be repeated. The risk of repetition was considered high.

The report said Reed had failed to show insight or regret over his actions.

Reed was banned from working in the profession with immediate effect.