This is an old story, However, it had a run of hits in 2017. DSA is now DVSA, of course. Note that links originally referred to are now dead and have been removed.
I noticed last week that on one forum posters were beside themselves over the case of a driving instructor who had raped a girl 25 years ago and only recently been brought to justice through DNA evidence. Not that it matters, he wasn’t an ADI at the time of the offence, and he has been rightly punished. However, it seems that the man was known personally to some of the correspondents and they are therefore connecting it with being an ADI.
This story is far more current, and relates to someone who was an instructor at the time of his crimes – in fact, using his position as an independent ADI as a staging post for his crimes.
Thomas Cook, 59, has been found guilty of sexual assault on two women aged 20 and 17. Both were his pupils at the time of the incidents.
Investigating officer Det Con Darren Street, of Milton Keynes CID, said: “Cook acted in a predatory fashion and targeted young women he was teaching to drive for his own gratification.”
I would hope that it goes without saying that Cook will no longer be deemed “fit and proper” to practice as an ADI by the DSA.
I’ve not seen any comments from other instructors on this story. Undoubtedly, if they latch on to it, it will be another slight on the “profession” – that’s the usual way of showing their anger. However, in my opinion, I think the public are used to seeing scumbags like Cook from all walks of life, and they’re not going to single out driving instructors just because of this case and stop taking lessons as a result.
We can wring our hands and demand that things like this must “never happen again” all we want. The unfortunate thing is, they WILL happen again, because the world has more than its fair share of scumbags like Cook.