Simon Howard

Simon Howard, a member of the aristocratic family that owns Castle Howard in Yorkshire, has been at the centre of a long-standing sexual abuse scandal involving the historic stately home featured in the 1981 ITV series Brideshead Revisited. The case, which dates back to 1984, came to light publicly following proceedings at York Crown Court, where Howard was spared imprisonment due to severe brain damage that rendered him unfit to stand trial.

The abuse occurred in the gatehouse where Howard resided at the time. According to court details reported by The Independent, Howard invited a young girl, aged six or seven, into his bed while his then-wife was out tending to their horses. The jury, in a trial of facts held in October, determined that Howard had indecently assaulted the child and incited her to commit an indecent act. The victim later recounted the incident to her mother, who confronted Howard, but he denied any sexual impropriety, claiming the bed was large and it was common for children to play on it.

The case remained dormant for decades until the victim, now an adult, contacted North Yorkshire Police in 2018. Howard was interviewed and subsequently charged. However, between his police interview and the fact-finding hearing, Howard suffered a catastrophic brain haemorrhage after falling down stairs in his home, leaving him unfit to participate in a full trial. Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described the delay in prosecution as 'unacceptable' and speculated that earlier action might have allowed Howard to stand trial and provide evidence. Despite the jury's findings, the only sentencing option available was an absolute discharge, meaning no punishment was imposed, though Howard will carry a criminal record.

• The victim, in a personal statement read by prosecutor Michael Smith, expressed profound grief and anger: 'She grieves and feels wretched sadness for her six-year-old self, who should have been safe but wasn’t. She feels angry, not for revenge, but indignation for the casual way the defendant was able to take something so precious from her with, up to now, so little consequence to himself.'
• The judge remarked: 'This defendant falls to be sentenced following a finding of fact case... The jury found that he did the acts alleged against him, and that was the indecent assault against a little girl, aged six or seven, at Castle Howard back in 1984.'

Additionally, Howard faced separate allegations from the early 2000s of attempting to rape a young female visitor to Castle Howard on three occasions. The woman described waking to find Howard standing over her, leading to a pursuit from the bedroom to the bathroom. She left a note in the guest book reading 'Thank you for having me,' to which Howard reportedly joked, 'Shouldn’t that say thank you for NOT having me?' Prosecutors declined to pursue these claims, deeming it not in the public interest. The Howard family confirmed the brain injury stemmed from the fall, which occurred after the police interview. This case highlights significant issues in the timeliness of historical abuse prosecutions within the UK justice system.