Hearings and decisions
Upcoming hearings and decisions made by our adjudicators
John Babatunde Akinlabi
Registration number
SW21005
Allegations
1. Whilst employed as an agency social worker with the London Borough of Hillingdon Council in or around September 2019, you:
a) Received an image or clip of an apparent child’s exposed penis (“Image A”) sent by Social Worker X via WhatsApp
(i) In a WhatsApp group named “Estelle’s leaving drinks” or with a similar name; and/or,
(ii) In a private WhatsApp chat with Social Worker X;
b) Viewed Image A on one or both occasions it was received; and,
c) Responded to Image A with the words “hahahaha poor thing, he will put it to good use in time.”
2. Your response at Paragraph 1(c) was inappropriate for a registered social worker.
3. In respect of Image A referred to at Paragraph 1(a)(i) and/or 1(a)(ii), you
a) Should have reported to your manager and/or to the Police and/or to the Local Authority Designated Officer (“LADO”) for London Borough of Hillingdon Council and/or the LADO for London Borough of Croydon Council one or more of the particulars in Schedule 3 below;
b) Did not report to your manager and/or to the Police and/or to the Local Authority Designated Officer (“LADO”) for London Borough of Hillingdon Council and/or the LADO for London Borough of Croydon Council one of more of the particulars in Schedule 3 below.
Schedule 3
3.i That you had received an image which could be considered to be an indecent image
3.ii That you had viewed that apparently indecent image to any extent
3.iii That you had responded to such an image being sent to you
3.iv That you knew or believed you knew the identity of the sender of Image A
3.v That you knew or suspected the sender may have been a social worker.
4. In your conduct at Allegation 3, you failed to take any or any appropriate steps to safeguard the apparent child in Image A and/or other children with whom the sender (Social Worker X) would or could come into contact whilst working as a social worker.
The matters set out at 1, 2, 3(b) and 4 above amount to misconduct.
Your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of your misconduct.