Bruce Roth: Wellington College housemaster accused of touching boys during 20-year campaign of abuse

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Bruce Roth: Wellington College housemaster accused of touching boys during 20-year campaign of abuse

June 28th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Bruce Roth, 46, is accused of abusing three pupils at the prestigious boarding school in Berkshire
Also alleged that he abused two pupils at King’s School in Rochester, Kent
The former maths teacher performed sex acts on some of the boys and encouraged one child to do the same to him, Reading Crown Court hears
Alleged abuse took place between late 1980s and 2009, jury is told
Roth described one alleged victim as a ‘fantasist’ with a ‘sinister side to him’
Former Wellington College pupils include impressionist Rory Bremner

By
Rob Preece

PUBLISHED:

11:53 EST, 27 June 2012

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UPDATED:

11:53 EST, 27 June 2012

On trial: Bruce Roth is accused of abusing five pupils at two boarding schools where he taught

A former teacher at one of Britain’s most prestigious boarding schools sexually abused boys when he crept into their dormitory in the middle of the night, a court heard today.

Bruce Roth, 46, is accused of groping three pupils while he was a housemaster at £30,000-a-year Wellington College, in Berkshire, where a biographer of Tony Blair is now the master.

Roth is also alleged to have abused two boys at another private school where he worked previously – King’s School in Rochester, Kent.

Reading Crown Court heard that he performed sex acts on some of the boys and encouraged one child to do the same to him.

He was arrested after one of his alleged victims contacted the charity ChildLine.

Roth denies 17 counts of sexual offences against children.

The court heard that Roth was exonerated of abusing the two King’s School pupils years before the alleged offences at Wellington College are said to have taken place.

Two complaints were made against the maths teacher after he allegedly sexually touched one boy and repeatedly abused another, both aged between eight and 10, between 1987 and 1994.

But the accusations were dropped, the second time following an internal investigation.

It is alleged that Roth then went on to abuse the three boys at Wellington College.

Daniel Fugallo, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘Since the 1980s he has been a teacher and housemaster at important boarding schools and that is of central importance.

‘The jobs that he has held relate to the allegations in this case.

‘Over a period of 20 years, from the late 1980s through to 2009, he has abused his position of trust as a teacher by touching five boys in his care for his own sexual gratification.

‘These boys were at the time these offences took place, say the prosecution, between eight and 15 years old.

‘They are now all young men in their late 20s and 30s.

‘These men were not friends at school when they were boys and have not become friends after leaving school.

‘They were in different years, in fact two of them went to an entirely different school in a different county from the other three.’

Prestigious: Roth is alleged to have abused three pupils while he was a housemaster at Wellington College, where annual fees are about £30,000

The court heard that, during Roth’s time at King’s School, concerned relatives of two pupils reported him to staff.

The first incident involved Roth touching one boy’s groin after he suffered a playground injury, the jury was told.

After a complaint was made by one of the boy’s families, a member of staff at the school asked Roth about the incident and he told them he was teaching the boy how to apply ointment to a rash.

The family member was satisfied with this explanation, the court heard.

Years later, the alleged victim, then a grown man, contacted Roth on Facebook and asked him if he was a paedophile.

Roth replied: ‘I don’t remember any such incident, I certainly wouldn’t do anything like that.

‘I have always tried my best to look after anyone in my year, I’m not a paedophile.’

Former pupils at Wellington College include impressionist Rory Bremner

Anthony Seldon, a biographer of Tony Blair, is Master at Wellington College

Well known: Impressionist Rory Bremner (left) is a former pupil at Wellington College, where Anthony Seldon (right), a biographer of Tony Blair, is the Master. Mr Bremner was not at the school when Roth taught there

The boy recalled how Roth would often punish boys by making then strip to their underwear and run laps, or lie on their backs and memorise constellations, the court heard.

The second complaint related to a claim that Roth had gone into a boy’s dormitory at night.

He would sit on the edge of the boy’s bed and tell him not to turn over, Mr Fugallo said.

Roth would then stroke the boy’s chest and put his hands down his pyjamas and touch his genitals, it is alleged.

Mr Fugallo said: ‘Mr Roth would say things like “stay there” and then would leave.’

The school held an internal investigation but the matter was dropped after a staff member carrying out the inquiry thought nothing could be proved because it was the teacher’s word against the boy’s.

The court heard that Roth later worked at Wellington College, where Tony Blair’s biographer Anthony Seldon is now the master and former pupils include impressionist Rory Bremner.

Historic: Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh meet staff at Wellington College in 1959, one of several royal visits to the school

Mr Bremner is not a complainant in the case and was not at the school at the time of the alleged offences.

It is alleged that Roth abused Wellington College pupils in their dormitory.

One alleged victim reported the matter to ChildLine and later told a school counsellor, which triggered a police investigation.

The court heard that Roth was arrested in October 2010 but told police that he had not acted inappropriately and had given the boy no more than a reassuring tap on the shoulder.

He also told officers that the boy ‘had a sinister side to him’ and was a ‘fantasist’, the jury was told.

The court heard that Roth’s computer was analysed by police and it was discovered that he had typed ‘teen boy sex’ into a search engine.

The computer expert also found a number of pictures of young men with their shirts off, as well as pornographic images.

When asked about the computer evidence, Roth blamed it on boys ‘mucking about’ with the machine, the jury was told.

Mr Fugallo said: ‘The search terms were entered around the hours of midnight and some during August when the school were on holiday.’

The trial continues.

Accusations: Roth is alleged to have abused two pupils at King's School in Rochester, Kent