Former teachers will appear in court accused of child abuse

Eight people have appeared in court accused of child cruelty and sexual abuse at a boarding school over a decade.

The defendants were charged in connection with an alleged sexual abuse scandal at Rhydd Court School in Worcestershire which took place in the late 1970s and early 1990s.

A total of five men and three women, aged between 51 and 82, appeared before Worcester Magistrates Court on Thursday.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse – assaulting, abusing, neglecting or abandoning a child with intent to cause unnecessary suffering or harm between 1979 and 1991.

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They each also face a number of other individual charges, ranging from sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual offenses and gross indecency.

During the short hearing, the defendants testified only to confirm their dates of birth and addresses, without addressing or indicating any motions.

All eight defendants were granted unconditional bail until their next hearing at Worcester Crown Court on August 31.

These allegations follow an investigation by West Mercia Police into allegations made while the site was owned by the local council.

The accused include:

Anita Gunning, 59, of Plymouth, is charged with conspiring to indecently assault a boy under 14 and indecently assaulting the same boy in a tent between 1987 and 1991.

She is also charged with indecently assaulting a second boy under the age of 14 between January and October 1990.

Cynthia Moore, 81, from Bude, Cornwall, has been charged with conspiracy to commit a sexual offence involving a boy under 16 between January 1990 and July 1991.

She also faces charges of conspiring to indecently assault a boy under 16 and cruelty to children between 1987 and 1991.

Marie Handy, 51, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was charged with sexually assaulting a boy under 14 between September 1987 and July 1991.

Michael Connor (69) from Wakefield is charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm between 1987 and 1991.

He was also charged with one count of sexual assault, conspiracy to commit a sex offence and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.

Terence Heath, 74, of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit sexual offenses and two counts of indecent assault between 1987 and 1990.

John Dixon, 82, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, was charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse, two counts of conspiracy to commit a sexual offence, four counts of sexual offenses and six counts of sexual assault.

These crimes took place between 1989 and 1991. The prosecutor’s office claims that they involved both adults and boys under 16 years of age.

David Sykes, 76, from Rotherham, was charged with causing bodily harm or grievous bodily harm in the alleged attack, which allegedly punctured an eardrum.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting a boy under 16 between June 1987 and February 1990.

Charmaine James, 62, from Buckie, Scotland, is charged with gross indecency with a boy under 14 and two counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16 and a man over 16.