The undergraduates Rattley tutors at Oxford are not children, but many are young and away from home for the first time. It is not unreasonable to expect basic professionalism and respect. Fellow Oxford professor Michael Biggs tells me there is ‘a strong case that Mr Rattley is creating a degrading and offensive environment, especially for female students, which would constitute sexual harassment’. ‘Adults should be free to explore their sexual interests in private with other consenting adults, but not to bring them to work’, he adds.
Dr Dionne Joseph, a clinical psychologist who has drawn attention to Rattley’s conduct, agrees. She described it as ‘highly anti-social, abnormal, boundary-violating, paraphilic’, and criticised the University of Oxford for failing to take action. ‘I see it as a form of (mental) sexual assault and institutional coercive control.’