A RAPE victim has been left angry and upset after learning that she divulged intimate personal details to a council social worker who had previously been suspended for two years for sexually harassing female colleagues.

Thomas Starkey, who works for Gloucestershire County Council’s children and families team in Stroud, was assigned to help the woman’s teenage son, who has behavioural difficulties.

However, the child’s mother, who is in her 40s and cannot be named, often had conversations with Mr Starkey about her personal history of abuse when discussing her son’s situation.

The woman, who grew up in an abusive household and experienced rape and serious sexual assault before the age of 18, often spoke to him alone at her home in Stroud.

She was then ‘shocked and distressed’ when an anonymous note was posted through her door containing information about his past.

Mr Starkey was suspended in 2009 from his job as director of social work at Clifford House, a care home for children in Herefordshire, after 15 charges of misconduct, relating to allegations of sexual harassment over 11 years, were proven.

The tribunal heard that Mr Starkey, who has since been re-approved for his social worker registration by the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC), harassed female colleagues by making sexually explicit comments and persistently asking them on dates.

In addition to his suspension, the General Social Care Council (now the HCPC) recommended that he seek professional help for his inability to respect professional boundaries between himself and female colleagues.

In passing sentence, the GSCC conduct committee said it had taken into account the fact that Mr Starkey had admitted some of the allegations.

Despite working for one of Gloucestershire County Council’s seven children and families teams, Mr Starkey is employed by an agency called Comensura, which is responsible for verifying references and carrying out background checks on all its employees.

Although GCC has said it was not informed by the agency about Mr Starkey’s suspension for misconduct five years ago, the authority is now facing questions about the wisdom of outsourcing employment checks on people who work with some of the county’s most vulnerable families.

While not wanting to comment on the specific case, county Labour leader Lesley Williams said: “I will be doing all I can to find out more about this from the director of children’s services.

“When we do commission a third party to carry out our work we need to be absolutely sure that the necessary safety checks are carried out and are in place.”

The woman, whose son was visited by Mr Starkey every fortnight, came forward to speak because she wanted to publicise the fact that Mr Starkey was working with vulnerable women – something she felt was inappropriate.

“I don’t know how it is okay for someone like him to be working with some of Stroud’s most vulnerable women and children,” she said.

“It is fairly shocking and distressing for me.

“I couldn’t believe they had assigned that man to me. I can’t be the only woman in Stroud who is having to deal with that kind of situation.

“Officially he was there to speak to my son but he spent a lot of time in the house speaking to me.

“We would discuss very personal things about my son and the way he behaves, very personal things about me and my family.

“This man knows my personal history.

“I experienced rape and sexual assault before I was 18. I grew up in an abusive household and I discussed that with him.

“I really wish I hadn’t.

“I have made it very clear now that I am not prepared to work with anyone from social care. I have no trust in them to provide any services for my son and certainly not for me.”

Kathy O’Mahony, operations director for children’s safeguarding at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “We take every complaint seriously and as a result of the concerns raised by the family, we acted immediately.

“When required, the council use agencies that provide social workers who have verified references, employment checks and are HCPC registered.

“In this case, Mr Starkey, who is an approved social worker, is employed by such an agency.

“However, in the interests of all concerned, we have assigned a new social worker to support the family.”

The Stroud News & Journal made several attempts to contact Mr Starkey for a comment.

But the recruitment agency, Comensura, which employs Mr Starkey and introduced him to GCC, was unavailable to comment.