A care worker has been struck off after he was convicted of having a sexual relationship with a teenager he was employed to look after.
Michael Suproniuk has been banned from working as a residential child care worker following a Scottish Social Services Council hearing.
Suproniuk appeared at Dumfries Sheriff Court earlier this year when he was convicted of engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl under 18 by sleeping beside her in bed, repeatedly hugging her and kissing her, while he was in a position of trust.
The offences happened at various locations in the region and in England between January 12, 2019, and May 17, 2020, while the teenager was in care.
Following his court appearance, Suproniuk was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.
At the SSSC hearing last week a panel found his “fitness to practise is impaired” because of his “misconduct and conviction”.
The panel found Suproniuk had shown “no insight, regret or apology” and that his actions were “deliberate and premeditated”.
they said his behaviour was a “serious abuse of trust directed towards a young female service user” which took place for a period of more than a year.
In a report on the hearing, published this week, it stated: “Social service workers must work with users of services in a professional manner and not form inappropriate relationships with them.
“They must recognise and use responsibly the power and authority they have when working with people who use services.
“They are also expected to be reliable and dependable and should not abuse the trust placed in them by people who use services”.
It said Suproniuk exposed the teenager, who he was employed to provide care and support to, to a “risk of significant emotional and psychological harm by engaging in sexual activity with her”.
The panel described his actions as “very serious”, adding that he had “abused the trust” of the teen “by engaging in an improper sexual relationship with her”.
The panel struck Suproniuk off because “a removal order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service
profession”.
