University Lecturer Brian Dodgeon Receives Eight Month Suspended Sentence After Schoolgirl's Death

University Lecturer Receives Suspended Sentence After Schoolgirl's Death

University lecturer Brian Dodgeon has been handed an eight-month suspended sentence for two years after a schoolgirl died at his home when she took a lethal cocktail of illegal substances.

Dodgeon pleaded guilty to four counts of drug possession including the party drugs LSD, ketamine and ecstasy at West London Magistrates' Court in October and was sentenced on Friday at Isleworth Crown Court.

Schoolgirl Isobel Jones-Reilly died at Dodgeon's home after taking a cocktail of illegal substances during an unsupervised party on 22 April. The 15-year-old went into cardiac arrest after telling friends she was "feeling ill". An ambulance was called around 4am when the schoolgirl stopped breathing.

Although paramedics arrived minutes later and tried to resuscitate Reilly, she was pronounced dead at 6.30am at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. The cause of her death was listed as MDMA - a class A drug - ingestion.

Dodgeon's 14-year-old daughter and two 14-year-old boys were also detained in hospital after the party, which took place at his home in Ladbroke Grove - on the same street where education secretary Michael Gove lives. The teenagers had spent the evening consuming alcohol after Dodgeon and his partner Angela Hadjipateras went out for the night.

Around 30 teenagers attended the party and were drinking cider, wine and spirits and smoking marijuana.

At the time, Isobel's parents Lynne Jones and Patrick Reilly, from South Acton, released a statement about their daughter's death.

"Isobel's family and friends are devastated and heartbroken by her untimely death. We hope that if anything positive comes from this dreadful event, it is that others will make the right decisions to be safe and well in the future."

The 61-year-old University of London lecturer, of Barlby Road, north Kensington, has previously researched subjects including health inequalities and alcohol consumption patterns.

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