A UK child psychologist is being permitted to continue practicing despite previously pleading guilty to grooming a 15-year-old child for sex in a public park. 

According to a report by The Daily Mail, Dr. Ross Canade was responsible for treating children's mental health as the lead psychologist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. This institution has drawn significant attention to its gender clinic, which offers medical procedures for minors seeking to transition their gender.

Canade was previously exposed for grooming when an online group of self-described “pedophile hunters” staged an online sting after Canade sent sexual messages to a person who informed him he was only 15 years old. Canade first spoke to what he believed was a 15-year-old boy on the gay dating app Grindr until the two exchanged numbers and talked on Whatsapp where the conversation “quickly turned sexual.”

The 53-year-old then attempted to meet the child at a restaurant with the intention of going to a local park for sex. However, he was “ambushed” by the group who was monitoring his conversations.

In July, Canade pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child after sexual grooming. “You established he was inexperienced, and there was discussion of having sex in a local park. You agreed to meet with the intention of having sexual relations afterwards,” the judge said. Despite his actions, Canade was only given a 12-month suspended sentence by a judge.

Following this revelation, Canade was fired by Tavistock. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Tavistock Trust said, “We can confirm that a former Trust employee has been convicted of offenses involving a minor. As soon as we were alerted to the police investigation, we suspended the individual, and subsequently he was dismissed.”

However, despite being convicted of child sex offenses, a report by the Daily Mail found that Canade has not been suspended from practicing his profession. According to the Health and Care Professions Council’s website, the regulator that oversees Canade’s profession, Canade is still registered to continue practicing without any conditions.