[A] MAN on the children’s “barring list” who applied for a job driving youngsters has been sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.
Mark Gascoigne, 60, pleaded guilty today (TUES) to a charge of seeking to engage in an activity – regulated by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act – from which he was barred.
The court heard Gascoigne was cautioned in 2003 for indecently assaulting a girl aged under 16. He was placed on the barring list indefinitely.
But last November he applied for a job with Cumbria County Council – as an adult/child workforce driver. His application was flagged, and it was submitted he “never had a chance” of succeeding with it.
Gascoigne, of High Rigg, Brigham, was given a 12-month community order. This comprises 100 hours’ unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement. He must also pay £1,500 costs.
“You may think it is draconian,” Recorder David Swinnerton said of Gascoigne’s barring list inclusion. “It is meant to be. It is to protect children.”
