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17th Jun 2018

Irish teacher jailed in the US for sexual assault and “improper relationships” with students

Alan Loughnane

He was originally arrested in 2017.

An Irish teacher has been jailed in the US for having “improper relationships” with students.

Dillon Gaffney, who is originally from Kildare, was sentenced to eight years in prison last after pleading guilty to offences involving students at Palacios High School in Texas.

According to the Bay City Sentinal, Gaffney was convicted of three counts for Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student and for three convictions for Sexual Assault of a Child (younger than 17 years of age).

The 25-year-old was also registered as a sex offender.

Gaffney worked as a soccer coach and social studies teacher at Palacios High School during the 2015-16 school year, when the offences took place, before leaving to work as the head girls soccer coach at Huntsville High School for 2016-1017 school year.

He was arrested and charged with having an improper relationship with a student in July 2017 on an out of county warrant out of Matagorda County.

The Palacios Independent School District released a statement following his arrest saying they were not made aware of “any inappropriate interactions” between Gaffney and their students.

“We are deeply disappointed to notify of the recent arrest of former Palacios High School Teach/Coach, Dillon Gaffney for having an inappropriate relationship with at least one former student during his time working with our district,” said Dr Alexandro Flores, Superintendent of Schools Palacios ISD.

“Mr. Gaffney worked for our district during the 2015-2016 school year as a social studies teacher/ assistant soccer coach. At no point during his tenure here were we made aware of any inappropriate interactions between Mr. Gaffney and any of our students.

Regardless of our district’s best efforts to thoroughly vet and screen all incoming employees, we cannot ultimately predict the future behaviors or actions to be displayed by our staff. What we can tell you with certainty is that we will always follow up and investigate any claims, allegations, or reports regarding inappropriate contact of any kind between staff and students and will not hesitate to take immediate and effective action when necessary and warranted.

“Unfortunately, we live in a time where these kinds of incidents can occur anywhere, even in smaller rural districts such as our own. No one is truly immune. Please be aware that we are fully cooperating with authorities and their investigation regarding this matter.

“The safety and security of our students will always remain the top priority of our organization and we will continue to work tirelessly to improve upon any best practices which support and increase the safety of our children. Thank you for your attention and support with this matter.”

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