https://insidecroydon.com/2024/01/20/police-investigated-child-abuse-claims-at-whitgift-last-year/Police investigated child abuse claims at Whitgift last year
Posted on January 20, 2024 by insidecroydon
The Met has confirmed that they followed up complaints about sexual abuse at the ?47,000 per year boys? private school, after pictures and messages were shared on social media, which may have contributed to the suicide of a former teacher. By STEVEN DOWNES
A public relations firm was hired last year to provide ?crisis management? as the Metropolitan Police investigated allegations of sexual abuse of boys attending the ?47,000 per year Whitgift School. At least two Whitgift teachers left their jobs abruptly and under suspicious circumstances, one of whom who cannot be named for legal reasons was accused of having hacked into the school?s computer system in order to access contact details for former pupils. Others, without any direct involvement in the alleged misconduct, were dragged in to the growing scandal, with one former teacher committing suicide as a consequence. The police investigation was being carried out last year just as another former Whitgift teacher, Paul Dodd, was being sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of sexual abuse charges dating back to the 1980s, some that had involved boys as young as 10 years old. Whitgift School is one of three private schools run by the Whitgift Foundation, the owners of the Whitgift Centre shopping mall in Croydon town centre and the borough?s biggest land owners. The Whitgift Foundation is registered as a charity and is closely connected to the Church of England: according to its most recent annual report lodged with the Charity Commission, eight of its Court of Governors were appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The Foundation has begun to suffer significant financial pressures, after more than a decade of waiting for Westfield to conduct a massive regeneration project on properties it owns in Croydon town centre. The Foundation has even decided to close down one of its private schools, the Old Palace girls? school. But last year the charity, with its then chief executive absent on long-term sick leave, decided to hire an expensive PR firm to help it navigate the significant reputational issues arising from paedophile scandals emerging from Whitgift School. Sources close to the Foundation and Whitgift School have assured Inside Croydon that the departure of Chris Ramsey, the headmaster who is to stand down in July, as was exclusively revealed by this website this week, is entirely unconnected with the latest set of abuse claims. Ramsey, a linguist by vocation and a Spanish speaker, is leaving to become head of an international school in Madrid. ?The opportunity to run an international school overseas, which as a linguist he has always wanted to do, has come unexpectedly, and it is a great shame for the school, but it is an enormously attractive move for Chris and one which governors have agreed he should take,? the Foundation said after iC had revealed that Whitgift?s headmaster was leaving.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed to Inside Croydon that Whitgift School was subject to an investigation into allegations of suspected grooming of children. On Wednesday, January 3 [2023] police received a third-party allegation of suspected online sexual communication with a child that was alleged to have taken place during December 2022. A police investigation was carried out and no offences were identified. The investigation was closed with no further action. However, should any further information be provided to officers, this will be assessed.?
Parents of pupils at the school, and others connected to Whitgift, have contacted Inside Croydon this week to express deep concerns about the school?s response to safeguarding issues. Reports in the national press have quoted a former Whitgift pupil and ex-governor of the school alleging ?inappopriate behaviour by teachers over a 40-year period?.
They said, ?If anything at all cropped up they would just try to smother it and move on, it was all about reputational risk. The reports appeared in the Daily Express, who related that Whitgift School refuted any suggestion of cover ups, stating ?it has worked with the relevant authorities and within regulations of the relevant time to investigate and report any incidences reported to it?.
?Fundamentally, it?s always been about cover-up.?
The Express claimed to have interviewed at least 10 people associated with Whitgift, prompted by recent allegations relating to the actions of teachers on social media, some of whom it was alleged were having sexual relationships with former students. Despite the police involvement, Whitgift School did not advise parents of the allegations until six days after they were approached by a newspaper reporter. On July 19 last year the school wrote to parents claiming ?all of these matters have been thoroughly investigated?.
Convicted: child abuser Paul Dodd
What Whitgift School and the Foundation was not able to do was cover-up the historic abuse case involving Paul Dodd, which after neary 40 years was to be placed firmly in a public spotlight when the former history and games teacher was hauled into the dock to face charges relating to his abuse. It was in the late 1980s that the then Whitgift headmaster, David Raeburn, received allegations that Dodd had taken a 10-year-old boy into the school changing rooms alone, had him strip naked and stared at his genitals. As Inside Croydon reported at the time of Dodd?s trial at Gloucester Crown Court last year, Raeburn did not go to the police when this was reported, deciding instead to deal with the matter internally. Dodd remained at the school and was allowed to take boys on trips. Dodd isolated a further two boys and abused them. One victim of abuse, interviewed late last year by the Express, accused Dodd of using the school?s rules to empower his abuse of young boys. It was school policy to have a teacher in the changing rooms and showers to ?oversee? boys getting washed. As was documented in the criminal case against Dodd, another rule forced boys to wear swimming trunks under their shorts or nothing when playing rugby. Underpants were not permitted for rugby. ?When Paul Dodd was involved,? the Express reported, ?these policies were used as cover for abusing children.?
The court heard how Dodd locked a child of 11 or 12 in a room before lifting his boxers to stare at his penis. Another 10-year-old victim was taken to a quiet area where the Whitgift teacher grabbed and squeezed his genitals. A report of the final incident did prompt Raeburn to act. Dodd was sacked, the assault was reported to police and the Department for Education. Dodd left the country, to take up teaching posts in New Zealand, until he was discovered assaulting boys there, too. ?Dodd?s crimes were unforgivable, and our thoughts are with those impacted by them,? a spokesperson for the school and the Foundation told the newspaper.
?It is critical that matters such as these, regardless of their historic nature, are thoroughly investigated and that justice is served. The School assisted the police and relevant authorities throughout their enquiries and we are grateful for their work in bringing this man to account."
Roll of honour: eight of the members of the Whitgift Foundation?s Court of Governors were appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, according to the charity?s latest annual report.
?We are absolutely committed to our safeguarding responsibilities and we will ensure any allegation is passed to the authorities. It is important to us that those who have suffered feel able to come forward and we will provide appropriate support.?
More recent allegations of misconduct and abuse have taken a tragic toll. While at least two members of staff left Whitgift following the computer hacking allegations, one of the teachers named in the allegations ultimately took their own life. Parents have expressed their distress and disquiet over how a popular and gifted physics teacher, Dr Kevin Ralley, became implicated in the Whitgift scandal. Dr Ralley had left Whitgift and had been teaching at KCS Wimbledon at the time of his death. Concerns had begun after images from an account that appeared to be connected to a teacher started to circulate on social media. As well as containing pictures of one member of staff in a state of undress, the posts made serious allegations about two other teachers at Whitgift. It was claimed one was messaging former students ?by getting their number off school systems? and sending them ?very explicit content?. It suggested another was ?adding students and ex-students on social media by catfishing and trying to get inappropriate content?.
?Catfishing? is the practice of using someone else?s pictures to create a fake social media account. Also shared were a series of screenshots that claimed to be from a WhatsApp conversation between a teacher and former pupil. The messages suggested the ex-pupil had sexual contact with two other teachers. Referring to the penis size of one of the teachers repeatedly, one message added: ?I know I?m third after Kevin and [another teacher] haha but I?d love to get to know how naughty you are.?
?We are absolutely committed to our safeguarding responsibilities and we will ensure any allegation is passed to the authorities. It is important to us that those who have suffered feel able to come forward and we will provide appropriate support.?
More recent allegations of misconduct and abuse have taken a tragic toll. While at least two members of staff left Whitgift following the computer hacking allegations, one of the teachers named in the allegations ultimately took their own life. Parents have expressed their distress and disquiet over how a popular and gifted physics teacher, Dr Kevin Ralley, became implicated in the Whitgift scandal. Dr Ralley had left Whitgift and had been teaching at KCS Wimbledon at the time of his death. Concerns had begun after images from an account that appeared to be connected to a teacher started to circulate on social media. As well as containing pictures of one member of staff in a state of undress, the posts made serious allegations about two other teachers at Whitgift. It was claimed one was messaging former students ?by getting their number off school systems? and sending them ?very explicit content?. It suggested another was ?adding students and ex-students on social media by catfishing and trying to get inappropriate content?.
?Catfishing? is the practice of using someone else?s pictures to create a fake social media account. Also shared were a series of screenshots that claimed to be from a WhatsApp conversation between a teacher and former pupil. The messages suggested the ex-pupil had sexual contact with two other teachers. Referring to the penis size of one of the teachers repeatedly, one message added: ?I know I?m third after Kevin and [another teacher] haha but I?d love to get to know how naughty you are.?
Much missed: Dr Kevin Ralley
The ?Kevin? referred to in the message was Dr Ralley. It was the release of these images that led to the complaints to the Met investigation. According to the Express: ?Whitgift conducted an ?independent? investigation into the alleged wrongdoing which a spokesperson claimed had found ?that what took place did not involve any pupils and the former pupil said to have been involved was an adult at the relevant times?. There was, therefore, no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing, albeit the behaviour fell below expected standards of a member of staff at the school.?
One teacher resigned before the investigation began. Another teacher was dismissed, the Express reported. Whitgift claimed the probe had not ?centred? on the young teacher as he had left the school two years earlier. A Whitgift spokesperson said that Ralley ?declined to be interviewed as a witness by the external investigators? and ?nothing emerged from our investigation to support Ralley being involved in any criminal conduct?.
It was known that Ralley, although a high-achiever academically, was in some ways vulnerable. The existence of the investigation, and his being mentioned in the messages, was enough for Dr Ralley to take his own life. He was 38.
