A teacher carried out a sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl by pretending to carry out the Heimlich manoeuvre on her while giving a drama lesson.

Stephen Gillespie – who donned a full latex mask to hide his face as he left court – was filmed ‘grunting and thrusting’ into the girl by another pupil.

The 63-year-old has now been placed on the sex offenders register for a year and removed from the classroom after the sex attack at a Dundee secondary school.

He was placed under supervision for 12 months and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work after being convicted of sexual assault at Dundee Sheriff Court.

The court heard Gillespie continued to deny there was any sexual element to what he did but he was found guilty by Sheriff George Way.

One teenage girl said that the teacher had spoken to the class about chewing gum before singling out the 13-year-old girl.

The witness said: ‘I had not been taught by Mr Gillespie before. He was an older teacher with white hair and glasses. He asked a pupil to spit out gum.

‘He asked [the girl] to stand up and said “this is what would happen if you were chewing gum and choked on it”.

‘He stood behind the girl and put his hands under her chest area whilst facing her from behind, so they were both facing the same direction.

‘He began to demonstrate the Heimlich manoeuvre. I think he did this for about 30 seconds. All the class were laughing as he did it Mr Gillespie was grunting as he was doing it.

‘I have been taught the Heimlich myself and you don’t need to grunt the way Mr Gillespie was doing it.

‘She looked at me and mouthed to record what he was doing.

‘I got my phone out and recorded a couple of seconds. She was shaking when he was touching her. I thought she looked scared. I thought he was just showing what to do if you were choking, but [she] clearly wasn’t enjoying it.

‘Mr Gillespie did not ask her if he could demonstrate it and he did not explain to the class that this was what he was away to do.’

The trial was told that Gillespie was seen to be thrusting back and forward behind the girl, and police were contacted in the wake of the incident on August 27 last year.

Gillespie, of Dundee, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a pupil while he was acting as a drama teacher at a secondary school.

He was found guilty of putting his arms around her waist and repeatedly thrusting his body into the teenage pupil’s body.

Solicitor Lucy Martin, defending, said: ‘He continues to deny the charge and the conduct.

‘Given that he went to trial that is not unusual as he has maintained his position throughout.’ Sheriff Way said: ‘It is a fine line between what the perception is. It is not his perception that matters – it is how it is seen by such evidence in the course of the law.

‘He is a first offender at 63 and has a blameless record. He is described, and it is no doubt true, as an extremely dedicated professional.

‘The consequences for him of this conviction, both professionally and personally, far outweigh what I can do today.

‘It seems to me that what I must do is to protect against this happening again. Whatever he thought he was doing, it was a terrible lapse of judgment. He will be placed under supervision, with counselling to help him lead a blameless life thereafter.

‘There has to be a punishment element, so he will carry out 100 hours unpaid work within six months, and they will have to find suitable work for someone of his age to do.’

Gillespie’s supporters checked outside the court before he donned a full-face latex mask to try to hide his face from waiting photographers.