A senior residential child care worker has been cleared of a string of allegations that he acted inappropriately towards a schoolgirl in Dundee.
Colin Melrose, who worked as a senior care officer with Dundee City Council, had denied breaching professional boundaries in his behaviour towards a 15-year-old girl between April 1 and February 2012.
Melrose had been investigated by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in relation to 14 allegations in total, including asking a girl to open her dressing gown and expose her breast, telling her that he “thought about her all the time” or words to that effect, telling her he wanted her to “make the first move” and telling her he wanted her to sit on his lap and bounce her.
However, after considering oral testimony and documentary evidence in the case, a SSSC sub-committee has dismissed most of the charges levied – suggesting there was no evidence to prove what was alleged and highlighting some “significant inconsistencies” in evidence given by the accuser.
It also said that while there was no evidence of the accuser having a “personal vendetta” against Melrose, sub-committee members recognised that the accuser had told lies “on occasions and when under pressure”.
The sub-committee did rule that Melrose had committed misconduct relating to two outstanding allegations about a medical issue, suggesting that he had failed to respect and maintain the girl’s “dignity and privacy”.
His actions in that respect, according to the sub-committee, put Melrose “at unnecessary risk of allegations” and breached parts of the Code of Practice for Social Service.
A further hearing will be held in due course to discuss what sanctions, if any, Melrose will face in relation to the misconduct charges proved by the SSSC.
The charges against him all related to when he was employed by Dundee City Council as a senior social care officer, a role he was dismissed from on the grounds of gross misconduct when the allegations came to light.
It is understood that Melrose appealed that decision and was redeployed to another department in light of the SSSC proceedings against him.
Asked about the outcome, Mr Melrose said he could not comment on the case but confirmed he was still an employee of Dundee City Council.