Teacher guilty of abusing boys in school darkroom

An ex-private school teacher has been found guilty of sexually abusing former pupils.

David James Clarke committed 45 counts of child sexual abuse while teaching at Newlands School in Seaford, East Sussex, where he "preyed on 13 children" between 1978 and 1989, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The 82-year-old, who was in a "position of utmost responsibility", ran a photography club and isolated boys in a darkroom where he would sexually abuse them, said the CPS's Claire Brinton.

Clarke is due to be sentenced on 1 June.

He exploited the boys for his "own hideous and vile sexual gratification, often using threats and bribes to manipulate his way to abuse numerous boys in his care," Brinton continued.

The boys were abused while they were "vulnerable because of their age... [and] away from their homes and families", she added.

Clarke, a former religious education teacher, was arrested after police discovered indecent images of children on his computer, the CPS detailed.

"All children have the right to feel safe," said Brinton.

She urged anyone who has been in a "similar position" to report what happened to police.

"It is never too late to seek justice - you are not alone."

Clarke, from Norfolk, was found guilty at Lewes Crown Court of 39 counts of indecent assault, four offences of indecency with a child, and one offence of buggery at a hearing on Monday.

He was also convicted of making indecent images of children.

Newlands School closed in 2014.

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