No jail for sleazy teacher

A sleazy teacher who admitted making crude and inappropriate comments to nine pupils avoided jail this week.

Nat Mcmullen left the girls, aged 12 to 16, “extremely uncomfortable” while working as a maths teacher at a school in Glasgow’s east end.

The 70 year-old made remarks such as wanting to pay to look up a teenager’s skirt and also pinned another girl up against a wall. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard some broke into tears because of his conduct.

Mcmullen returned to the dock having pled guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner, repeatedly making gestures, uttering comments of a sexual nature and committing a breach of the peace. His lawyer claimed Mcmullen, of Hamilton, had been “trying to build a rapport” with pupils to get “street credibility”.

Sheriff Alan Findlay told the shamed OAP: “I am a bit disappointed in your attitude, but I will deal with this with a supervision order.”

The sheriff imposed the two-year community payback order which will see Mcmullen monitored by social workers. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ list for the same period of time.

The court earlier heard how Mcmullen retired in 2007 before returning to work in 2014.

He told a 16-year-old girl in front of her class: “i would pay 20 quid to look up your skirt.”

Mcmullen also pretended to spank another girl and pinned a third girl against a wall.

He suggested to a female pupil who was late to class that she should sit on his knee, which made her feel “extremely uncomfortable.”

Mcmullen cornered a 12-year-old girl in a corridor and at one point touched her hip with his left hand to restrain her.

In a police interview, the girl said: “i felt petrified as teachers don’t put their hands on me.

“I wanted to move away from the wall and he wouldn’t let me move at all and that’s when I started crying as I got a fright and I froze.”

A support teacher said Mcmullen made other inappropriate comments to girls such as “who wants to be my girlfriend?”

A 14-year-old was asked by Mcmullen to take off her shirt in one of his maths classes. He also quizzed the girl where she bought her underwear.

A 15-year-old pupil reported Mcmullen came from behind and squeezed her.

He further said to one girl “you fancy me” and asked another if she had a “love letter” for him.

A number of complaints were made by sickened pupils and parents.

Mcmullen was quizzed, and claimed he felt “unwell” before later resigning.

Nicholas Nimmo, defending, told the court: “he was trying to build a rapport and get street credibility.

“He was using the language that the pupils were using in the classroom.

“Part of his way of dealing with it was by the way of humour.”