Pupil feared touching claims wouldn't be believed
Neil Beckett pictured at a previous court appearance
- Published
The mother of a Lagan College pupil told Belfast Crown Court that her daughter “didn’t want to live” after alleged unwanted touching from a health and welfare officer at the school.
The mother told the court her daughter stopped going to school and told her: "Who is going to believe me mummy? I can’t go back. I can’t go back mummy.”
She said “I took my daughter out of school. She didn’t want to live. She didn’t want to be here. And that was because of him breaking her trust”.
The pupil told the court Neil Beckett, 43, of Kilmore near Crossgar in County Down, hugged her and touched her stomach, hips and bottom.
The pupil told the court Mr Beckett “acted normally when people were around” then he was “all over” her when nobody was around.
Neil Beckett is accused of 29 sex offences against teenage girls. Appearing on trial before Belfast Crown Court, he denies all the charges against him.
Mr Beckett was working at Lagan College in south Belfast at the time of some of the alleged offences.
The charges span a decade—between 2013 and 2023—and involve 11 alleged victims, nine of whom were pupils at Lagan College.
Two other victims were teenage Army cadets at a time when, prior to taking up his role at the school, Mr Beckett was an Army cadet leader.
Among the charges against him is an allegation of rape by one of the Army cadet complainants.
'Really pretty girl'
In court today, a pupil at Lagan College said “he told me I’ve really pretty eyes and that I was a really pretty girl”.
“If I was sitting on a chair he would make me look into his eyes.”
The court heard Mr Beckett “put his hand” on the pupils thigh and said, “I’m always here for you”. The pupil said, “I used to pretend I was on my period so I could say I couldn’t sit down on the chair so he wouldn’t come so close to me”.
Mr Beckett’s barrister put it to the pupil “nothing had happened to you. Mr Beckett never hugged you in the way you described?” The pupil replied, “He did”.
The trial continues.