A NURSERY nurse at the centre of child sex and pornography charges has been suspended from the care worker register.
Alexander Mortimer, from Rutherglen near Glasgow, who is accused of sexually assaulting a child, taking an indecent photo of a child and possessing indecent images, has received an interim suspension from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
The 28-year-old, who works at a council-run nursery in South Lanarkshire, has been suspended for six months and will have to attend a SSSC hearing following his trial.
Parents at the nursery yesterday reacted angrily to news of the charges following Mortimer's appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
They had previously been informed by letter that a police investigation was under way into a member of nursery staff, but had not been told it concerned allegations of sexual abuse.
One mother told The Herald she plans to remove her three-year-old daughter from the nursery, blaming the decision on a lack of information from staff and South Lanarkshire Council.
She said: "My daughter's not going back. I'm on my way in to collect her things then I'm putting in a transfer request.
"After we got the letter, I tried to find out what was going on. They got two council officials to speak to me and they told me they couldn't disclose anything.
"I found out on the news what the charges were – it's absolutely ridiculous. We were left not knowing, imagining the worst.
"My daughter was in his group – every day going into see him. I just can't believe it."
Another parent added: "We've been told very little. When we got the letter, I thought 'it's probably someone doing something stupid on a night out, drunk and disorderly or something'.
"But when I heard from a reporter that it was this, I just burst into tears. My three-year-old daughter was in his group and he's been her key worker."
Another mother claimed Mortimer has worked at the centre since 2008. She said: "We don't know how many kids this could potentially affect, some could be at school now.
"The nursery have agreed to meet with us individually and police are also meeting with parents if they contact them, but we're all pretty angry at the way it's come out and why it's taken so long. He's been suspended since the start of the month."
The location of the alleged offences is not known. The investigation into Mortimer's alleged activities has been running for at least two weeks.
The early-years worker first appeared in court more than a week ago but a decision to inform parents of the nature of the charges was only taken on Tuesday following a further court appearance.
A spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Council said the decision on what information to provide had proved difficult.
She said: "We completely understand the parents' anxieties. The issue of what information can be given when there is a criminal investigation is always a difficult one – but there has been very close cooperation between the local police, the fiscal and ourselves and that will continue.
"Most children were at the nursery today and our focus has been 100% on giving parents all the support we can. We have had additional staff at the nursery for the past two weeks and they have been meeting with parents and providing support for them and nursery staff."
There are around 150 children at the nursery, which has remained open during the course of the police investigation.
Mortimer made no plea or declaration when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court, and was remanded in custody.
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