Support Worker Struck Off After Sharing Bed, Intimate Photos with Teenager

Chloe Short, a 28-year-old support worker, has been removed from the professional care worker register following an incident where she shared a bed with a 15-year-old schoolboy and exchanged intimate photographs. Short had been assigned to provide overnight respite care for the teenager's family.

During her employment, Short filmed herself sharing a kiss with the boy, which was described as "sexual" by a fitness to practice panel. She also sent the boy sexually suggestive pictures, including one of herself in a towel after a shower. Messages exchanged between them indicated a deeply inappropriate relationship, with Short telling him she "missed him every second" and was "obsessed with him."

The incidents came to light when Short's girlfriend discovered the compromising material on her phone. Short had previously pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child and received a ten-month suspended prison sentence. A judge at her sentencing hearing characterised her actions as "very inappropriate" and a betrayal of the trust placed in her professional role.

In a standards hearing, committee chair Steve Jones stated that the severity of the offence necessitated striking Short from the register, emphasizing the ongoing risk she posed to vulnerable individuals. The support worker is from Caerphilly, Wales.