David Barwise, 53, was placed on the barred list in May 2011 after being given a caution from Cumbria Police following an allegation of sexual activity with a female under 16.
He was sent a letter informing him that he was barred from working with children, Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.
But after losing his job at Sellafield following a conviction for assault in 2023, he applied for a DBS certificate to work with Gen2, which offers apprenticeships and training programmes in the engineering, nuclear, and manufacturing sectors.
Prosecutor Pamela Fee said the job ‘would have put him in direct contact with children’. Ms Fee said Barwise failed to inform Gen2 about the caution and his employment with Gen2 ceased a few days later due to ‘unrelated matters’.
Ms Fee said Barwise was interviewed by police and when asked about applying to work as a science and process trainer at Gen2, Barwise told officers he didn’t know he was barred from working with children.
The defendant was asked if he could remember the letter he received in 2011 and he said he couldn’t remember. He said he was drinking heavily and taking drugs at the time.
Barwise said he had lost his job at Sellafield due to gross misconduct. He said he would never apply for jobs at a college if he had known he was barred from working with children.
He said it was an opportunity to move forward after losing his career at Sellafield, where he had been asked to hand in his notice.
The court heard that Barwise was working at Gen2 under a risk assessment, until his DBS check came back. Police asked if he had worked with children at any point while at Gen2, and he replied, ‘no, I didn’t even meet them’.
Ms Fee said while the defendant had not been working with children, the risk was still there and the job would have put him in direct contact with children. He ‘shouldn’t have applied for the job in the first place’, the prosecutor said.
David Barwise, pictured outside Workington Magistrates’ Court, was barred from working with children in 2011 following a police caution for sexual activity with a female under 16 (Image: Newsquest)
Mike Woolaghan, defending, said an allegation had been made in 2010 and Barwise had received a caution from the police. The defendant later received a letter, notifying him that he was on the barred list, the solicitor said.
But at the time, Barwise’s mental health position was ‘difficult’ and he was misusing drugs and alcohol. He contemplated taking his own life, the court was told.
Mr Woolaghan said: “He received the letter but hadn’t read it. He rebuilt his life and got on with his career.
“He simply was unaware he was on the barred list at all.”
Mr Woolaghan said the defendant could have made an application to be removed from the list in 2021, after a 10-year period had expired.
“In 2023, he was dismissed from his career at Sellafield. He had been there nearly 30 years,” Mr Woolaghan said.
“This was an opportunity to pay back to the professionals that were going to follow him. He made the application, ignorant that he was on the barred list.
“Gen2 were asking for details of unspent convictions. A 2011 caution was not applicable, in any event.”
Mr Woolaghan said the defendant’s employment with Gen2 came to an end on day two due to his conviction in 2023. He said the DBS check then came through and Barwise was subsequently arrested.
The court heard that Barwise was now in receipt of Universal Credit and his search for employment following a long career with Sellafield ‘had not been successful’.
Barwise, of Melbreak Close, Whitehaven, pleaded guilty to engaging in regulated activity from which barred.
Magistrates fined the defendant £80 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.
