sws4420
05-04-2005, 11:34 AM
A TEACHER who was raped in a classroom by a 15-year-old pupil on her second day at a new school has been so traumatised by the attack that she has been unable to return to work for the past eight months.
The woman, 28, was marking exercise books after lessons when she was singled out by a well-built boy who had been prowling the corridors of the Inner London school.
During a 12-minute attack the teacher was headbutted, bitten, punched and told that she would be killed unless she gave into his demands.
After the full details of the rape were revealed at the Old Bailey yesterday, one teaching union called for panic buttons to be fitted in all classrooms in an effort to protect school staff from dangerous pupils.
The attacker, now aged 16, admitted raping the woman at the secondary school in September last year. Two other charges of sexual assault were ordered to remain on file. Neither the boy nor the school can be named for legal reasons.
Brendan Kelly, for the prosecution, told how the boy, from southeast London, subjected the woman to a “sustained and violent sexual attack” after he found her alone in her classroom at around 4pm.
The teacher, who had never taught her attacker, felt a “strong” arm around her neck, but initially thought it was a pupil playing a practical joke.
The boy, who is 5ft 11in tall, dragged her across the classroom and tightened his grip around her windpipe.
In the struggle the teacher stabbed him with a ballpoint pen and hurled furniture at him. The youth ripped off her clothing and bit one of her breasts before punching her face and repeatedly threatened to kill her. He headbutted her and forced her to perform an obscene oral act, the basis of the rape charge.
Half-naked, the woman ran to the headmaster’s office. Her face was covered in so much blood that at first the other teachers did not realise she was the new recruit.
The teenager, who was captured on CCTV running from the building, was arrested the next day. His trousers contained traces of his victim’s blood. A sample of his DNA matched semen retrieved after the attack. Adjourning sentencing until psychiatric reports are prepared, Judge Goddard, QC, said that because of the seriousness of the crime only a custodial sentence would be considered.
After the hearing a spokesman for the local education authority said: “We will continue to offer full support and guidance to the teacher, the head teacher and all other school staff.”
A statement issued by the teacher read: “It has been a gruelling wait for me and my family to see that justice has been done and this individual is prevented from harming anyone else.”
The woman, who had worked for four years at another London school, said that she had always considered her job a vocation.
The youth has a previous conviction for carrying a knife and had been placed on a community punishment order last year.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1596529,00.html
The woman, 28, was marking exercise books after lessons when she was singled out by a well-built boy who had been prowling the corridors of the Inner London school.
During a 12-minute attack the teacher was headbutted, bitten, punched and told that she would be killed unless she gave into his demands.
After the full details of the rape were revealed at the Old Bailey yesterday, one teaching union called for panic buttons to be fitted in all classrooms in an effort to protect school staff from dangerous pupils.
The attacker, now aged 16, admitted raping the woman at the secondary school in September last year. Two other charges of sexual assault were ordered to remain on file. Neither the boy nor the school can be named for legal reasons.
Brendan Kelly, for the prosecution, told how the boy, from southeast London, subjected the woman to a “sustained and violent sexual attack” after he found her alone in her classroom at around 4pm.
The teacher, who had never taught her attacker, felt a “strong” arm around her neck, but initially thought it was a pupil playing a practical joke.
The boy, who is 5ft 11in tall, dragged her across the classroom and tightened his grip around her windpipe.
In the struggle the teacher stabbed him with a ballpoint pen and hurled furniture at him. The youth ripped off her clothing and bit one of her breasts before punching her face and repeatedly threatened to kill her. He headbutted her and forced her to perform an obscene oral act, the basis of the rape charge.
Half-naked, the woman ran to the headmaster’s office. Her face was covered in so much blood that at first the other teachers did not realise she was the new recruit.
The teenager, who was captured on CCTV running from the building, was arrested the next day. His trousers contained traces of his victim’s blood. A sample of his DNA matched semen retrieved after the attack. Adjourning sentencing until psychiatric reports are prepared, Judge Goddard, QC, said that because of the seriousness of the crime only a custodial sentence would be considered.
After the hearing a spokesman for the local education authority said: “We will continue to offer full support and guidance to the teacher, the head teacher and all other school staff.”
A statement issued by the teacher read: “It has been a gruelling wait for me and my family to see that justice has been done and this individual is prevented from harming anyone else.”
The woman, who had worked for four years at another London school, said that she had always considered her job a vocation.
The youth has a previous conviction for carrying a knife and had been placed on a community punishment order last year.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1596529,00.html