A college lecturer repeatedly asked a junior colleague to send him photos of her breasts despite her refusals. Bridgend College lecturer Stephen Barrett texted her saying “show me your boobs” to which she replied “no chance”, a professional standards committee was told.

Parts of the texts were read out on the second day of the Education Workforce Council Wales fitness to practise hearing on November 8. EWC presenting officer Joanna Wilkins said Mr Barrett’s requests that she “show me your boobs” were clearly turned down in a series of replies saying “no”, “no chance” and “are you joking?”.

When his demands were refused, the painting and decorating lecturer texted the woman again saying “I’ll be forever grateful” and “please, just once and I won’t ask again”. He then texted a sad face emoji and resorted to messaging her: “FFS, cleavage then. Go on mun, you can’t hide what I’ve seen already, it’s not fair”. Mr Barrett also allegedly compared his colleague's breasts to buns , an earlier session of the hearing was told.

The lecturer claimed he only asked for pictures after Colleague A, who had just started her first job at the college months after leaving school, had mentioned her breasts. Mr Barrett told the hearing she had come into the department staff room at the college's Pencoed campus, when he was alone, and claimed she started talking about her breasts: “She went on to mention her boobs, the size and mentioned that if she removed her bra they would probably fall to the floor and joked “one day you’ll have to see”. A couple of days later the texts were sent.

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Challenged that “it’s not a two-way thing is it?” Mr Barrett told the committee: “It would depend what way you look at it. As far as I was aware we were good friends.”

He said there had been “banter” and “joking” between them and the team as a whole. He denied this was intimidating or hostile to Colleague A, who he said had felt happy enough in his company to be alone with him in the staff room. But he told the committee: "I regret deeply having sent those messages. It's one isolated incident."

Mr Barrett denied a separate claim that he patted, or touched, Colleague A's bottom after she had jumped out and said “boo” at him in the college workshop. Her jumping out at him in this jokey way was an example of Colleague A feeling comfortable in his presence, he claimed.

Asked whether his behaviour as a lecturer towards a junior colleague was appropriate, Mr Barrett said he was not her manager. The team treated one another as equals, he said.

But Mrs Wilkins told the second day of the virtual hearing: “There were a number of messages sent, requesting pictures of Colleague A’s 'boobs', or breasts where she is persistently saying 'no'. He tried to say that was jokes or banter.”

Mr Barrett said he was shocked when Colleague A officially complained about his behaviour towards her in early 2022. That was a long time after the texts were sent in 2018, he said, and he accused Colleague A of trying to deflect blame away from a review into her own standard of work.

The committee was told she had complained in February 2022, after passing that review. In evidence on the first day of the hearing, Colleague A said she hadn't complained straight away because she felt the lecturer’s alleged behaviour towards her was somehow “my fault”, but his actions left her feeling "sexualised" at work.

The committee heard that problems reportedly started soon after the alleged victim began work at the Pencoed campus of Bridgend College. Quizzed about the texts, Mr Barrett apologised, but he denied all other allegations against him.

Responding to a separate allegation that he implied he wanted to insert a nine inch paint roller into Colleague A, Mr Barrett told the panel: “I know nothing about that. I did not do that.”

The lecturer also denied claims he made homophobic comments to students including using the phrases “gay boy” and “gimp”, asked students to take photos of Colleague A up a ladder or commenting on a mature student’s figure. But he agreed: “There was humour and banter amongst ourselves on a regular basis, but nothing personal or nasty.”

Mr Barrett was described as “an outstanding lecturer and tradesman” by his former line manager at Bridgend College, Stuart Bunston, who told the committee that the lecturer and his team “aligned with the ethos of the college”.

After an internal investigation, Mr Barrett handed in his notice on April 6, 2022 and two days later left his job at the college, the hearing had been told earlier. Mr Barrett denies all but one of the allegations against him.

He accepted he had sent a text of a sexual nature to Colleague A, but denied making comments of a sexual nature, commenting on Colleague A’s work in front of students, encouraging students to take photos of her up a ladder or making offensive comments to Colleague A in front of students.

The lecturer faces the following allegations that:

1. Between October 2019 and February 2022, he displayed intimidating and/or hostile behaviour towards Colleague A, in that he:

a) Sent one or more text message(s) of a sexual nature; and/or

b) Made comments of a sexual nature; and/or

c) Commented on the standard of Colleague A’s work in front of learners; and/or d) Encouraged learners to film and/or take pictures of Colleague A while she was on a ladder.

2. He made inappropriate and/or offensive comments towards and/or in front of one or more learner(s).

Taken together the allegations are alleged to amount to ‘unacceptable professional conduct’, which Mr Barrett also denies.

The hearing continues.