Teacher wins libel case against gossiping mother
For the first time, a parent has been convicted of defaming a teacher. In 2014, a mother spread stories about abuse and mistreatment by the Brabant teacher, even though she knew he had done nothing wrong.
At a school in Brabant, a group of 8th grade girls accused the teacher in 2012 of assaulting, beating and touching their breasts and buttocks. An intern debunked the story and the students admitted shortly after that it was made up.
In 2014, the teacher discovered that a mother, in the past also a teacher at the Brabant school, told other mothers that he had children and hit them. He reported libel and slander.
In the story 'Judge condemns gossiping mother', from Education magazine 14 of September 17, 2016, the Brabant teacher states that education staff cannot actually arm themselves against false accusations. “It would be good if schools and boards had a protocol ready for accusations of abuse. We lacked that.” The teacher was not suspended at the time and no report was made. He says: “Thanks to the firm action of the management, the story was immediately out of the world.”
Read the full story of the Brabant teacher below. That story also tells you what you can do yourself if you are falsely accused. Download: Judge condemns gossiping mother
