A senior Education Ministry official is subject to two parallel procedures following the Attorney General’s decision to pursue criminal prosecution on sexual harassment charges.
After being notified by police of the prosecution decision, the Education Ministry immediately initiated procedures to place the senior official on administrative leave.
The ministry’s director general has sent a letter to the Public Service Commission informing members of the criminal prosecution development and requesting consideration for placing the official on administrative leave, according to Philenews sources.
Official requests early retirement whilst ministry seeks suspension
Simultaneously, the affected ministry official has written to the Public Service Commission requesting early retirement, with only a short period remaining before normal retirement age.
The Public Service Commission will examine both issues and decide accordingly. If the early retirement request is accepted, the question of administrative leave becomes moot, a procedure that has been followed in other cases involving public officials.
If an official faced only disciplinary proceedings and requested early retirement, they would not be entitled to leave until the disciplinary procedure was completed.
In this case, it may be deemed in the public interest to accept the early retirement request rather than place the official on administrative leave, which would result in half-salary payments until the case is heard or normal retirement.
Two separate police investigations led to single court case
A criminal case was filed against the Education Ministry official on Monday at Nicosia District Court, according to reports in Politis newspaper.
The charges include two counts: indecent assault against a minor (as the complainant was under 16 at the time of the alleged offence) and sexual harassment in the workplace. The first hearing is scheduled for 30 October.
Police investigated two separate cases. Initially, a woman filed a complaint alleging she suffered indecent assault by the accused whilst she was a minor. The second complaint was filed in 2023 by another Education Ministry official.
After completing the investigation of both complaints, authorities decided to file a case in the District Court.
