Repton School: Teacher jailed for abuse of girls in 1990s

Clague worked at the school during the 1990s

A former teacher has been jailed for abusing pupils at a well-known private school in Derbyshire.

Simon Clague, 55, worked at fee-paying Repton School in the 1990s and admitted charges of indecent assault shortly before his trial was due to start.

Derby Crown Court heard he had formed intimate relationships with three teenage girls.

Sentencing him to seven years and 11 months Judge Shaun Smith QC said Clague had abused his position.

Clague, of The Pastures, Repton, will also be on a sex offenders register for life.

'Sexual gratification'

The court heard impact statements from three women saying he had betrayed their trust and detailing how his offences had affected both their schooling and adult lives.

Clague admitted eight counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency.

Judge Smith told him: "What you did for your own personal pleasure affected the emotional lives and wellbeing of the victims.

"You used and abused your position as a teacher for sexual gratification."

Det Sgt Steve Judge, from Derbyshire Police, said Clague's victims "have shown real courage and patience throughout the police investigation and subsequent wait for trial".

"[He] was in a position of trust and manipulated this to begin sexual relations with girls, who he knew were under the age of consent," he said.

'Despicable crimes'

Repton School said in a post-sentencing statement it was "profoundly sorry that the school failed to protect this man's victims", adding any former pupils looking to contact the institution "will be taken extremely seriously".

"It was harrowing to hear how these despicable crimes have impacted on their lives, and we welcome the fact he has been sent to prison - something that has happened thanks to the victims' courage in speaking out," it said.

"The way in which pupils were preyed upon so cynically was no more acceptable in the 1990s than it is now."