Teacher at top school harassed female colleagues, panel hears

A teacher has avoided being struck off despite harassing two female colleagues at Brighton College.

Raphael Ruz looked up both women’s addresses on the school database to send them flowers and hand-delivered letters, as well as bombarding them with emails and texts.

But despite ruling that he had harassed them both, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel said that as he hadn’t meant any harm, he should not be banned from teaching.

The first woman, known as Colleague A, first met Mr Ruz in July 2017. In September, she was sent flowers by an unknown sender, which Mr Ruz later claimed to have sent.

In September that year, she took part in a school sea swimming event, at which Mr Ruz took pictures for the school.

He later sent pictures he had taken of her, with the comment “nice”. However, the panel said it believed Mr Ruz when he said this was done in friendship with no malicious intent.

The woman later sent Mr Ruz a text saying: “I’ve e got to be really blunt about this, but this has to stop. Text messages, letters at work, photos of me when I’m working. Flowers to my house … I trust that you will respect this. I do not want to pursue any sort of relationship with a colleague.”

He replied saying he understood, but that he “cannot stop thinking about you”.

Five days later, he sent her an email, subject line “This awkward and embarrassing silence” about seeing her in the lunch queue, avoiding him, and imagining what their lives could be together.

She replied telling him to stop harassing her, and saying she would report him if he didn’t stop.

More emails and texts followed. At this point, the woman had only been working at Brighton College for four weeks.

The following month, Mr Ruz put a handwritten letter in her pigeonhole, saying that his heart stopped whenever he saw her, and that he believes he deserves better than to be accused of harassment.

She showed it to her line manager and said if it continued, she would make a formal complaint.

Then in November, he went into her office and told her “I can’t get you out of my head”.

The hearing summary said: “She told Mr Ruz that she was not interested and had to physically push him out of her office and lock the door. Up until this point, she stated that she thought that she could manage it alone, however, she submitted that this incident had scared her.”

The second woman had been working at the school since 2015, and told the panel she went for a drink with him in 2017 to stop him asking.

The next day, she received a postcard in her pigeonhole, and said the behaviour slowly “ramped up from there”.

In October 2020, she completed a survey on the website of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which supports victims of harassment and stalking, based on her experiences. It advised her to contact the police, which she did.

She told a colleague she felt Mr Ruz was contriving to “bump into” her, particularly on the beach, which led to her avoiding it. However, the panel said it believed Mr Ruz when he said this was simply coincidence.

On 11 October, he invited her to go out sailing on his boat despite her making it clear she did not want to.

The hearing summary said: “She explained how over an extended period she felt that Mr Ruz had pestered her as to possible social contact, followed her and contrived to find ways to engage with her, made inappropriate remarks, and behaved in an intimidating way.

“She explained how matters came to a head as a result of an incident that took place outside the Co-op on 13 October 2020 when she reported that Mr Ruz had been intimidating.”

During this encounter, he repeatedly told her “you have really got in my head” while banging his umbrella on the floor an dpointing at her forehead.

Two members of the public gave the woman their phone numbers unprompted in case she needed witnesses.

The following day, he went to her home address, which he had again found on the school database, to deliver a letter apologising and blaming his actions on a “strange chat” they had had in the pub three and a half years before.

When she came home and found the letter, she spent the night in a hotel.

She contacted the police on 19 October, and Mr Ruz was arrested the following day. However, the school was told on 16 January, 2021, that no further action would be taken. Mr Ruz left the college after a disciplinary hearing two months later.

In the conclusions, Teaching Regulation Agency executive Sarah Buxcey said: “There was no evidence that Mr Ruz’s actions were not deliberate although the panel did note that Mr Ruz had not deliberately intended to cause harm with his actions, in particular with regard to the harassment.

“Given that the nature and severity of the behaviour were at the less serious end of the possible spectrum and, having considered the mitigating factors that were present, the panel determined that a recommendation for a prohibition order would not be appropriate in this case.

“The panel considered that the publication of the adverse findings it had made was sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher as to the standards of behaviour that are not acceptable, and the publication would meet the public interest requirement of declaring proper standards of the profession.”