A teacher who set up a racy OnlyFans account under an alias offering to send lingerie to her followers has been sacked.
Leanne Wilson created an online subscription service on the adults-only site where she allegedly advertised sending her underwear and rating subscribers’ penises as paid-for services.
She also provided sexually explicit photographs or videos of herself and sexual interactions with subscribers via direct messages.
But Ms Wilson was rumbled after a colleague at Holbrook School for Autism in Derbyshire discovered an Instagram account that promoted her OnlyFans account, a misconduct panel heard.
The social media account allegedly contained ‘sexually provocative images of herself wearing underwear’ and a link to her OnlyFans profile.
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On May 15, 2023, the member of staff reported that they found the account under the alias Sophie Palmer via Instagram’s ‘people you may know’ feature.
The school’s HR manager took screenshots of the Instagram page and a colleague recognised Ms Wilson, who had worked at the school since April 2015, in the pictures.
When the link was opened by the school, the teacher’s OnlyFans page advertised the paid-for services.
The panel found there was ‘clear reference’ to her being a ‘secondary school teacher’ on her profile.
Ms Wilson was suspended on May 16, 2023, and resigned ten days later on May 26.
During a professional misconduct hearing Ms Wilson admitted the allegations.
The panel found all the allegations proven and ruled that she breached professional standards.
These included that ‘teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school’ and that ‘teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach’.
Ms Wilson’s conduct ‘fell significantly short of the standard of
behaviour expected of a teacher’, the panel said.
It also found that Ms Wilson’s actions ‘fell significantly short of the requirement to maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour and that she acted without professional regard’.
It said there was no evidence that students or parents had seen her alias’s Instagram account.
However it noted testimonals that she was a ‘good teacher who was able to positively influence the students including those that had more challenging needs’.
Ms Wilson formed good relationships with students and was a well-regarded teacher from testimonials provided by colleagues, parents and pupils, the panel said.
One parent of a former pupil said in a testimonial: ‘For the year that she taught him, she developed a close therapeutic relationship with him, nurtured his self-confidence and was an integral part of his transition to adulthood…
‘She was one of the few people outside of our family that really understood and could bring out the best in [him]…
‘To lose such an inspiring, motivational and passionate teacher would be a huge loss to the special needs community.’
And one former pupil said: ‘In my opinion Ms Wilson’s commitment to her students goes beyond academics.
‘She is deeply invested in personal growth and well-being, building strong relationships founded on trust and respect…
‘It is rare to find an educator as dedicated and impactful as Ms Wilson.’
The panel concluded that a prohibition order, meaning Ms Wilson would be banned from teaching, is ‘not proportionate or in the public interest’.
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