DUNFERMLINE DRIVING INSTRUCTOR JAMES BENNETT SEXUALLY ASSAULTED YOUNG FEMALE STUDENT
A WEST Fife driving instructor who sexually assaulted a young female pupil was allowed to keep working — even after being placed on the sex offenders register.James Bennett, then in his early 50s, abused his position of trust while operating as a driving instructor in Dunfermline.
In June 2005, he sexually assaulted a 22-year-old learner inside her own home after asking to use her toilet.
Bennett had been teaching the woman for around a year.
During lessons, he was known for making crude sexual comments and boasting about his so-called “sexual conquests” — behaviour that later took a far darker turn.
At a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, Bennett was convicted of the sexual assault.
He was sentenced to community service and placed on the sex offenders register.
But shockingly, that was not the end of the danger he posed.
Just two days after his conviction, Bennett was seen driving past the victim’s home in Glen Nevis Drive, Dunfermline — still operating as a driving instructor and still collecting pupils.
A glaring loophole in the law meant convicted sex offenders could continue teaching for up to 45 days before losing their licence.
Bennett exploited that loophole in full, continuing to take young women — including teenagers aged 18 and 19 — alone into his car.
There was also no automatic system requiring the courts to notify the Driving Standards Agency that Bennett had been convicted of a sexual offence, allowing him to remain on the road unchecked.
Public outrage over Bennett’s continued access to learners prompted political intervention.
The case was taken to MP Willie Rennie, triggering a three-year parliamentary battle to close the loophole.
The issue eventually reached Westminster, where the victim met transport minister Stephen Ladybank and received a formal apology for the failure that allowed Bennett to continue working.
The resulting private member’s bill finally received Royal Assent, ensuring that convicted sex offenders can no longer legally continue working as driving instructors after conviction.
The law change means that predators like Bennett can no longer exploit bureaucratic delays to remain in positions of trust — and no longer have unsupervised access to young learners.
Despite his conviction and placement on the sex offenders register, Bennett’s case exposed how easily dangerous individuals were once able to slip through regulatory cracks — a failure now permanently written out of the law.
