Megan Neilson, 28, was banned from care roles after sexual activity with a man in her charge.
A Scottish care worker who engaged in sexual activity with a disabled man in her care has avoided a prison sentence — despite being found guilty by a jury.
Megan Neilson, 28, from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, was assigned to support a 29-year-old man with cerebral palsy and a learning disability between June and August 2022. Over that period, the two developed what prosecutors described as an “inappropriate relationship” which culminated in a sex act in a parked car at the Falkirk Wheel.
Neilson was also accused of showering the man with kisses and cuddles during outings, including trips to a bowling alley and Strathclyde Park in Motherwell.
Their relationship became public when the pair arrived holding hands at the man’s father’s home and announced they were a couple. The father told Hamilton Sheriff Court he was “shocked” and described the incident as a “major breach of trust by the support worker working with him”. He added: “He is still not the same wee laddie.”
Embed from Getty ImagesPolice were alerted soon after. When officers arrived at her door, Neilson reportedly asked: “Is this about the inappropriate relationship?”
She denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with the man while in a position of trust.
During a police interview shown to the court, the man recounted that Neilson warned him: “If anybody found out about us, she would lose her job, her daughter and her college course.” He said the experience made him feel awkward as “this had never happened to me before”.
Neilson insisted there had been no sexual contact, though she admitted quitting her job due to what she called an “emotional relationship”. She told the court: “I’m not sure why he has said this — maybe because he couldn’t be with me — but I can’t get my head round it. I feel terrible, it has affected me really badly, and it has given me a lot of anxiety, but there was nothing sexual between me and him.”
Defence solicitor Lewis Kennedy accepted there had been a breach of trust and said her resignation was “appropriate”, acknowledging the potential harm to the man’s wellbeing.
Sheriff Linda Nicolson said such offences would “normally” lead to custody but ruled that Neilson’s responsibilities to her young children justified a community-based sentence instead.
She told Neilson: “A significant factor is the impact a custodial sentence would have on your young children. A custodial sentence would normally follow such an offence, but I have concluded that, due to the potential detrimental effect a custodial sentence would have on your young children, a community-based disposal can be imposed.”
Neilson was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work, placed under supervision for 18 months, and made subject to a year-long curfew.
She was also added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and banned from working in care roles for the foreseeable future.
The conviction followed a trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court in which the jury heard about the pair’s meetings, the nature of their interactions, and the father’s reaction when they confirmed their relationship.
Neilson remains unemployed.
