Convicted of sexually assaulting two young boys
A man who taught at St Benedict's school in 1984 has been found guilty of two counts of sexual assault - one involving a 12 year old pupil from the school.
Stephen Skelton, 63, a former maths teacher was arrested in 2010 as a result of an ongoing investigation in to historic allegations of abuse at the Catholic school.
Following various reports in the media the first victim - now an adult - reported that he had been assaulted by Skelton in 1984 during private tuition sessions at the teacher's home.
A second victim came forward and alleged he had also been assaulted by the teacher between 1993 and 1994 (he was 10 at the time) when Skelton taught at a school in Hampshire - again during private lessons.
Skelton was charged on 19 July 2011 with two counts of sexual assault of boys under 16-years of age in 1984 and 1993.
He was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court and sentenced to a suspended 6 months jail sentence and will stay on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. Part of the Order given by the Court is that he is not to have any contact with children under the age of 16.
Detective Constable Christine Hobson of the Child Abuse Investigation Team at Northwood said:
"Stephen Skelton completely abused the trust of the victims' families and sexually assaulted these boys whilst providing tutoring lessons in his own home.
"Thanks to the courage of the victims in making statements and being
prepared to give evidence, we have successfully managed to bring the
perpetrator to justice many years after he had, no doubt, thought he had
got away with it. The two allegations were strikingly similar, despite
the fact that they came from two separate pupils who have never met,
from two different schools Skelton taught at, 10 years apart.
"Skelton has worked for many schools in and around Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire and we would encourage any similar victims of such crimes to make contact with police. They will be treated with respect and their allegations will be taken seriously."
Please contact the Metropolitan Police Child Abuse Investigation Team at
Northwood on 0208 246 1901.
9th December 2011