East Lothian crime: School worker Graham Bennion faces trial accused of sex with pupil

Wallyford man also faces charges over sexual assault on women

A school worker has appeared in court accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenage pupil.

Graham Bennion is alleged to have been in a position of trust towards the girl while engaging in sexual activity with her in a car at a rural location in East Lothian.

Bennion, 39, is said to have exposed his penis within the alleged victim’s car and persuaded and encouraged her to perform oral sex on him. The accused man is also said to have repeatedly contacted the girl through several social media platforms, attended her place of work uninvited and entered her vehicle against her will.

Graham Bennion appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Picture: Lisa Ferguson.

Court papers also state Bennion, from Wallyford, East Lothian, induced the girl to “disclose her whereabouts to him in an attempt to control her” and that he threatened to reveal details of their sexual encounters. He is further facing allegations he repeatedly threatened to kill himself if she did not reply to his messages.

All the offences relating to the school pupil are alleged to have taken place between March 1 and June 30, 2014. Bennion is also facing charges of sexually assaulting two women by kissing them and attempting to kiss them at public houses in East Lothian between July 2013 and December 2015.

Bennion, who is employed by East Lothian Council as an active schools coordinator, is also alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman by making derogatory remarks and slapping her on the bottom at the Voodoo Rooms club in Edinburgh in December 2018.

The local authority worker appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to all the charges he is facing. Sheriff Ian Anderson set down a trial date for early next year.