Ex-housemistress cleared of school abuse charges

A former housemistress at a top school was today cleared of helping a male teacher abuse boys.

Jane Violaris, 48, was discharged on the orders of the judge at the Old Bailey.

The prosecution said it was no longer offering evidence against Mrs Violaris, of Harrow, north London, on two charges of child cruelty in the 1980s.

The charges against her former colleague, Stephen Douglas-Hogg, 52, of Filey, North Yorkshire, were also dropped.

A jury trying him on three charges alleging sexual abuse of young boys at St Paul's Cathedral choir school, City of London, in the 1980s, was discharged.

A retrial will be held next year on those charges. He was remanded in custody.