A FORMER Coleg Cambria assessor has been taken off the register by the Education Workforce Council after failing to admit that he had previously been convicted for inflicting grevious bodily harm.

Andrew Antoniou was asked to appear before an Education Workforce Council (EWC) fitness to practise panel this week but he did not attend.

The hearing heard that the meeting was originally supposed to be held earlier this year, but Mr Antoniou asked for an adjournment, shortly after engagement ceased.

The committee was told that on May 2, 2018, Mr Antoniou pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on August 31, 2016.

On May 8, 2018 he was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment and made the subject of an indefinite restraining order.

Ashanti Jade Walton, presenting officer, said that Mr Antoniou applied for the job in November 2017 and after a successful interview, signed a contract of employment on December 8.

He started his new job on January 24, 2018 but failed to mention at any point the incident and pending trial.

Ms Walton said: “You can be satisfied on the balance of probability that he knew failure to disclose the charge and/or conviction was dishonest. He knew he was supposed to do that.

“It is clear in the contract that any arrest or charge should be disclosed, and that contract was signed by the registered person.”

Ms Walton went on to say that his failing to disclose that information was not a ‘momentarily lapse in judgement’ as he ‘knew it would result in him losing his job’.

Mr Antoniou was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court and the hearing heard from Joanne Freeman, HR advisor, who said the first she heard of the incident was from a newspaper article of the court report published on May 9 and she said he asked another staff member asking for an ‘indefinite period of unpaid leave, however didn’t explain the reason for this request’.

Mr Antoniou said in a written statement that he made Joanne Freeman aware of the charge and he was told it was only charges brought against him during the course of his employment, which was an issue. However Ms Freeman said this was untrue.

Ms Walton told the hearing that Mr Antoniou was bailed from May 2 to May 8 and still did not disclose the possibility of his sentence.

The hearing heard how the victim suffered multiple injuries as he was ‘stamped in the head more than once’ while he was unconscious.

Ms Walton said Mr Antoniou had ‘fallen short’ of what was expected of a registered person.

The committee found all allegations to be proven, that Mr Antoniou failed to disclose information of his pending trail despite knowing about it and knowing he needed to and that he had acted dishonestly and without integrity. They found that Mr Antoniou had not apologised or ‘expressed regret’ for his ‘serious’ actions and came to an appropriate action that ‘maintains public confidence in the education profession’ and to ‘uphold proper standards of professional conduct’.

He was taken off the register.