Piers Le Cheminant

Piers Le Cheminant, a 77-year-old retired teacher from Poundsgate, Devon, has been convicted of sexually abusing boys during his time as a teacher at Oakwood School in Chichester and Salisbury Cathedral School between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The convictions, spanning 11 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault, came after two trials at Portsmouth Crown Court, with the first trial concluding in February 2022 and the second earlier in 2023.

The court heard that Le Cheminant was a popular teacher who exploited his position of trust to abuse pupils. Complaints about his behaviour were raised at both schools at the time, leading to him being asked to leave his positions, but no police investigation was launched until 2018. Following the opening of the investigation, former pupils received standard letters from officers inquiring about their experiences, prompting several responses that named Le Cheminant as the perpetrator. Jurors learned that some victims had remained silent for decades due to fears of getting the popular teacher in trouble.

Details of the abuse included assaults during lessons in front of other pupils, as well as after swimming or sports activities. In his police interview, Le Cheminant denied all allegations, dismissing them as 'nonsense'. At the first trial in February 2022, he was convicted of eight counts of indecent assault on a male person and acquitted of one similar charge. The judge ruled he had no case to answer on four further charges, while the jury could not reach a verdict on three others. The second trial resulted in convictions on three counts of sexual assault.

Gareth Morgan, senior lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service, highlighted the 'strikingly similar' recollections of the victims, noting how Le Cheminant's popularity and authority fostered closeness with pupils to facilitate the offending. He emphasised the 'terrible toll' the abuse had taken on the victims' lives and stated that this case demonstrates 'time is no barrier' to justice for historical sexual abuse, even after many years.

Le Cheminant is scheduled for sentencing on 16 June 2023 at Portsmouth Crown Court, where he faces imprisonment for these child sex offences.