Former teacher guilty of raping pupil

A retired teacher has been found guilty of raping one of his pupils and forcing her to perform oral sex on him after luring her away from a school disco.

Kenneth Anbany, 63, attacked the girl in the 1980s after driving her away from Dartmouth Community College in Devon.

Exeter Crown Court had heard he had tried to groom the teenager in class, telling her how attractive she was and begging her to meet him outside school, actions which had left her feeling "uncomfortable".

The jury rejected his claim that she had fabricated the ordeal because she blamed him for her difficult school years, after hearing he had admitted sex offences against another girl in 2009 and been accused of acting inappropriately with other teenage girls.

Judge Graham Cottle told Anbany, of Stockport, Greater Manchester: "You stand convicted of the rape of a 15-year-old pupil. You must expect to receive a substantial custodial sentence."

The jury of six men and six women took a little over two hours to find Anbany guilty of what the prosecution had described as "a clear case of a teacher taking advantage of a pupil in his charge for the sole purpose of his own sexual gratification".

The court had heard he was "policing" the school disco on the night of the rape when he came across the girl coming out of the toilets. He had previously chatted her up in class and put his arm around her as he helped her with work, something she told the court made her feel "uncomfortable".

She told the court she "naively" agreed to go to his car because she wanted to tell him to stop pestering her. Instead, the court heard, he drove a short distance to a secluded lane and raped her as she sat "shocked" in the passenger seat. Afterwards he dropped her back at the school and went to the pub.

She told her then boyfriend, now her husband, about her ordeal five years after it happened, and also a friend at university.

But it was not until she saw newspaper reports on the internet in 2009 about a conviction for Anbany involving another young girl that she came forward. He was given a three-year community supervision order after admitting in October 2009 to driving a 15-year-old schoolgirl to a secluded location, molesting her and asking her for sex. He denied eight sexual offences at the time, involving three other female pupils aged under 16.

The court also heard that Anbany had a child with a girl he met at a school he taught at in Berkshire when she was 19. She told the court their sexual relationship started when she was 15, but he claimed they did not start their relationship until she had left school at the age of 16.

Other pupils he taught at Dartmouth also made complaints about his behaviour, but he was never convicted. One girl told the court that he kissed her while giving her a lift home when she was 17.

The victim told the court that Anbany, who now walks with a stick, had seemed a "cool" and "trendy" teacher, because he was informal with the students at a time when teachers were generally stern and strict.

Asked by the defence why she got in the car with him in the first place, she said: "I was trusting. I was a good girl and I did what I was told.

Anbany claimed in court that the woman had made the whole story up and said school rumours at the time had suggested she "fancied" him, something she rejected.

Defending Anbany, Stephen Dent said his client was the sole carer for his 87-year-old disabled mother, who was "virtually blind" from cataracts. He revealed that she had been coming to court each day with Anbany, but had then been left to sit in a car while he was in the dock.

Mr Dent said his client, who suffers from diabetes, would find prison "particularly onerous" because of his poor health.

Judge Cottle adjourned sentencing for reports.