Revealed: How Another Teacher at Runaway's School Was Jailed after Grooming Two Young Girls for Sex
By Tom Kelly
Parents at Megan Stammers’ school demanded an inquiry into its child protection procedures last night as more under-age sex scandals emerged at the Church of England comprehensive. Incredibly, another teacher at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne was jailed three years ago for preying on teenage girls after grooming them on a social networking site. In addition, a former chairman of governors at the same school is due to stand trial on alleged child sex offences next month. Some parents said their children were too scared to attend class after it was revealed how staff failed to remove married maths teacher Jeremy Forrest despite warnings that he was having a relationship with Megan seven months ago. Richard Chapman, who has two children at the school, said: ‘Something needs to be done now, otherwise, where will it stop? And who will be next? The school has let everyone down and it is not like this is the first time it has happened. The school needs to be investigated from the very top levels of management. Something is not right there.’ The 47-year-old self-employed gardener added that his 11-year-old daughter, Charna Rose, had been too frightened to go to school this week. ‘She just doesn’t feel safe there now.’ Robert Healy, a supply teacher at the school, was jailed in 2009 for sleeping with two girls aged 15 and 16 after grooming them on a social networking site. In a striking similarity to the Megan Stammers case, other pupils knew what was going on before he was caught.
He took his first victim, a 15-year-old pupil, back to his father’s empty house for sex three or four times. After she broke up with him, terrified her parents would find out, he started a second relationship with another 16-year-old pupil. He admitted having sex three times with the younger girl between October and December 2007 and seven times with the older girl between February and April 2008. The devastated mother of the younger girl said after he was sentenced for seven years for ‘grave breach of trust’ at Lewes Crown Court: ‘You send your daughter to learn in school. You expect the teachers to protect them, not abuse them.’
Another female pupil’s mother told her local newspaper after the case that she was removing her then 12-year-old daughter from the school because she felt its leadership team had failed to protect students from the predatory teacher. Earlier this year the school faced more criticism after a retired Anglican priest apparently remained chairman of governors for more than a year after claims of child sex abuse against him came to light. Canon Gordon Rideout, 73, stayed in his post despite the Church suspending him in 2010 following a Criminal Records Bureau check. He finally left his position at the school this year and was later charged with 38 sexual offences against 18 children and young teenagers. They allegedly happened between 1962 and 1973, before he was involved at Bishop Bell. He is expected to stand trial next month. Yesterday there was more anger after the full extent of Megan’s relationship with Forrest emerged. Another parent with children at the school, 33-year-old Susan Teixeira, said: ‘This is an appalling breach of trust on the school’s part. They should have told the parents. We send our children to school to learn and we expect them to be protected by the teachers.
This is a very serious matter that should never have been withheld from the parents. The teacher in question should have been suspended. ‘Children shouldn’t be afraid to go to school. It’s just not right and something needs to be done.’ The school was accused of going to ‘extraordinary lengths’ to avoid revealing its child protection policy, which most schools put on their websites as a matter of course. Lucy Duckworth, from the campaign group See Change, contacted the school in March asking to see the policy as part of a general survey of schools in the area that had not already put it online.
When staff refused she made a formal freedom of information request to see it, but received a 700-word email from headmaster Terry Boatwright, insisting that the school was exempt from both revealing the policy or even saying whether it had such a policy. Miss Duckworth said: ‘Almost every other school I spoke to was happy to provide the information when I explained the reasons, but this school was particularly unhelpful. ‘They simply freaked out when I asked them and were extraordinarily obstructive. ‘I did not know what they had to hide.’ In a statement about Megan and Forrest’s relationship, Mr Boatwright said yesterday: ‘The school and the county council had been addressing and investigating concerns that had been raised, in line with procedure, when this happened. That investigation will continue and we will decide what action to take.’
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