A creepy care worker who sexually assaulted two female colleagues over the course of six weeks has been struck off.
Olaoluwa Olugbodi, originally from Nigeria, attacked his victims on several occasions between February 8 and March 16 2021 while working for north-east care firm Craigard Care. He threw himself at his first victim between February 8 and March 5, seizing her by the body and groping her before rubbing himself against her. He then tried to kiss her while making lewd comments about her body.
The Aberdeen resident then preyed upon his second victim between February 15 and March 16, grabbing her, trying to kiss her and pressing his private parts against her. He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault at Aberdeen Sheriff Court earlier this year, prompting regulator the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to reviewed his suitability as a care worker.
Watchdogs concluded that his behaviour was "fundamentally incompatible" with continuing to work in the sector. Olugbodi was offered the opportunity to fight his corner with a formal hearing - but declined, meaning he has been banned from care work altogether.
In a written ruling, the SSSC said Olugbodi had invoked a "serious breach of trust" for which he had shown no insight or remorse. The regulator also said it had concerns over whether he was likely to behave the same way again.
The ruling noted: "You [Olugbodi] have been convicted of two sexual assault offences. Your abuse was directed at colleagues and caused them serious distress and upset. The behaviour was clearly sexually motivated.
"Your behaviour fell well below the standards expected, [...] was fundamentally incompatible with professional registration and breached the fundamental values expected of the social service profession. Given the serious nature of your convictions and the pattern of sexual abuse, we consider there is a risk of similar behaviour occurring again."
Olugbodi left his job with Craigard Care in March 2021, according to an online profile. Approached for comment, he denied he had sexually assaulted the women despite being convicted of the offences.
A spokesperson for Craigard Care said: "Female members of staff reported Mr Olugbodi to their manager for alleged sexual harassment at work. We take such complaints extremely seriously and immediately launched an internal investigation into the allegations, whilst also supporting the staff members to report their allegations to the Police.
"Following our internal investigation we were satisfied that the allegations were legitimate and of a serious nature. Mr Olugbodi was then dismissed with immediate effect on 16th March 2021.
" We were encouraged by the subsequent decision of the Aberdeen Sheriff Court to uphold our staff members allegations and to convict Mr Olugbodi of the charges against him in February 2022. We are also pleased that, following our reporting of Mr Olugbodi to the Scottish Social Services Council Fitness to Practice section in March 2021, that he has now been removed from their register and is barred from working with vulnerable people.
"It is vital that we as employers do not tolerate such behaviour in the workplace and it is equally vital that such people are not permitted to work in the care sector."
