Students’ anger at pervert prof’s sex probe delay
Campus bosses fail to publish report findings
Students have criticised a university over the length of time it’s taking to complete an investigation into a pervert professor.
Strathclyde University said it would publish its findings into shamed Kevin O’Gorman in August – 12 months after the probe started.
But the outcome of the inquiry, led by Craig Sandison QC, has yet to be made public, raising concern among staff and undergraduates at the Glasgow campus.
A separate investigation into the d i s g r a c ed academic’s career at Heriot-Watt University was published in May.
It found information about O’Gorman’s behaviour was passed to the Edinburgh university three years before he was dismissed.
An insider sa i d : “Concerns are growing among staff at Strathclyde Uni about the fate of the inquiry report.
“Some senior lecturers were given assurances by management that it would be published this summer. But there’s still no sign of it.
“It’s particularly galling when you see that Heriot-Watt report finished nearly six months ago. And that started later than Strathclyde’s.”
Students also criticised the delays. Strathclyde Students’ Union president Kayla-Megan Burns said: “We find it concerning that the results of this report are yet to be published. The situation with Kevin O’Gorman was absolutely awful and we need to know how this was allowed to happen so that we can learn from it.
“Otherwise, how can we prevent incidents like this from happening in the future?”
Shamed business professor O’Gorman was found guilty of sexually assaulting eight male students in a landmark #MMeToo case last year.
TheT 47- yea r - old , f r om M i l n g a v i e , DuDunbartonshire, was sensentenced to 240 hours of comcommunity service.
HHe preyed on students whwhi le working at the ununiversities between 202006 and 2014.
OOne of O’Gorman’s vicvictims bravely waived his anonymity to accuse StrStrathclyde University lealeaders of “whitewashing” an internal investigation intinto his behaviour.
FFraser Blevins, who was a 17-year-old student when he was targeted, label led O’Gorman “a monster who preyed on innocent people”. Strathclyde University carried out a probe into O’Gorman’s behaviour in 2011 following a complaint by another student’s parents. He was allowed to move to Heriot-Watt, where he took up a promoted post, during the investigation.
Strathclyde University said: “The QC-led inquiry is independent of the university. The timescale for receipt of the report is outwith the university’s control.”