Dr Alec High, one of the universities dental lecturers, is said to have repeatedly engaged in sexual activity in his office overheard by colleagues.

The General Dental Council (GDC) practise committee was today, Monday 23 January, told that four of High’s colleagues had reported overhearing sexual relations on numerous occasions between High and an unnamed woman. One of the instances was said to have happened whilst another staff member consoled a grieving student in the room next door, who had recently lost her grandmother.

Tom Coke-Smyth, speaking for the GDC, said: “the student support and advice outreach lead, made a formal complaint on 12 March 2015 after hearing sounds of sexual activity while trying to console a grieving student in her office. A number of staff had heard similar noises and this had been going on as far back as January 2013.”

The tribunal was told that the University was aware of reports between January 2013 and March 2015. In addition, the tribunal concluded that High gave false testimony on account of his whereabouts on March 12, 2015 caught by data showing him logging into the University system.

Coke-Smyth said that: “As a result of the complaint, there was an initial investigation [by the University] and Dr High was interviewed on May 1, 2015.

“He produced a number of pieces of paper [that proved] he was not in the Worsley Building at the time. When further enquiries were made, it was discovered this account was false.”

High was warned several times not to have sexual relations in his office, claims he did not refute, but continued to carry on with the behaviour despite advised caution from senior colleagues.

Dr High was a senior lecturer at the School of Dentistry, where he worked since 1981 although he is now no longer employed by the University. He is a head and neck cancer specialist, an editor for the The Journal of Pathology and the International Journal of Cancer.

Dr High neither present nor represented at the tribunal has not responded to the charges of both engaging in inappropriate sexual activity and giving a false account to the University.

The University have not released a public statement on High and have been contacted for comment.

The tribunal continues.

 

Christopher Tobin 

(Images: University of Leeds)