How a paedophile teacher finally met justice

A paedophile teacher who groomed and abused boys in his class is finally behind bars after being brought to justice more than 50 years after his first crimes were committed.

Robert Gould, who taught at South End Junior School in Rushden, Northamptonshire, was sentenced to 26 years after being found guilty of abusing 14 boys between 1971 and 1987.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Gould showed "distinct patterns of behaviour" while abusing his victims, starting with touching them to see how they reacted, before moving on to more serious abuse.

BBC News looks at how a man who "passed himself off as a respectable primary school teacher and church volunteer" was exposed as a paedophile.

At Gould's sentencing on Wednesday, judge David Herbert KC said he "took the innocence" of his victims and was "without remorse", as he was also served with a sexual crime prevention order.

It followed 13 hours of deliberation by a jury which resulted in the 74-year-old being found guilty of 29 charges.

They included 24 counts of indecent assault against boys under 14, gross indecency with a boy under 14, three counts of indecent assault against boys under 16 and a serious sexual offence against a boy under 16.

Northampton Crown Court heard Gould had left his role at South End Junior School in 1988 following an earlier offence of indecent assault against five other young boys, for which he was also convicted.

However, another boy who was not a pupil had also made a separate allegation of serious sexual abuse. Later, in the early 2000s, another former pupil made allegations about abuse committed against him, but was unable to speak to the authorities before he died in 2013.

It meant Gould's campaign of abuse from 1971 to 1987 did not come to light until a victim and former pupil submitted an online report in 2021.

The disclosures prompted a large-scale investigation, uncovering 12 former pupils who had all suffered similar abuse.

The CPS prosecutes offences according to the law at the time they were committed. This applies to all non-recent sexual offences.

The task for the prosecution was to prove to a jury that the offences had happened, not specifically where and when. The defendant had denied any suggestion of abuse.

The strongest evidence was the accounts of each individual victim, describing similar, escalating patterns of abuse.

The prosecution's case was that these men could not have been mistaken about what had happened in their childhood and they could not have made up a story together.

Many of them detailed how Gould's abuse has affected them throughout their lives as they battled with flashbacks, nightmares, and feelings of shame, anxiety and depression.

One man said: "I feel that Gould took my innocence away by doing what he did. He violated me and got away with it for so many years."

Another victim said: "I went from being the happy lad that was first in the playground and enjoyed going to school, to someone that didn't want to go to school and made myself sick to get out of going."

A third man said: "I blindly trusted that he had our wellbeing at heart but unfortunately Gould used his status and position for his own gratification."

Including evidence of offences committed against a victim who has died is unusual, as the victim cannot give evidence in court.

However, in this instance, the victim had made disclosures to medical and legal professionals, as well as family members before he died.

The CPS successfully applied to have this heard by the jury as hearsay evidence.

The evidence of the victim who reported Gould's abuse in the 1980s was crucial to the case.

The CPS advised that although the allegations had not resulted in charges at the time, this was not a barrier to them being heard. The victim agreed to support the trial and the CPS reinstated this victim's allegations as part of the case.

Emma Cornell from the CPS said: "Behind the outwardly respectable mask, he [Gould] was a paedophile and a predator, constantly abusing boys in his care and seeking to commit increasingly serious sexual offences.

"I hope that seeing him revealed for what he truly is will be of comfort to them and help them rebuild their lives."

Gould, previously of Wellingborough Road, Rushden, will serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison, meaning he will be in his early 90s before he is released on licence for the reminder of his term.

Judge Herbert praised the work of Northamptonshire Police and Det Con Alice Hornsby who led the investigation.

Speaking afterwards, Det Con Hornsby said: "I am pleased to see Robert Gould sent to prison for 26 years although no sentence will ever make up for the abuse that he perpetrated against these boys.

"Feelings of shame were something mentioned in a number of their victim personal statements and whilst this is a common emotion for people who have suffered sexual abuse, I want to be clear that none of them have anything to feel ashamed of.

"All the blame and the shame in this case lies solely with Robert Gould. He was someone in a position of authority who was meant to look after these boys and he grossly misused his power.

"I am so proud of the men in this case for their courage - they are honestly some of the bravest men I have ever met and together, we have managed to put a very dangerous, predatory man behind bars."

• If you have been affected by this story or would like support, you can find organisations which offer help and information at the BBC Action Line.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.