Latest news with #NeilBeckett
ITV News
23-05-2025
- ITV News
Challenge over former school welfare officer Neil Beckett's prison term fails
Prosecutors failed in a legal challenge to the prison term imposed on a former school welfare officer and Army Cadet leader for sexually abusing teenage girls. Judges in the Court of Appeal rejected claims the sentencing of Co Down man Neil Beckett was unduly lenient. Beckett, 44, from Kilmore Village near Crossgar, was found guilty of sexual assault and inappropriate contact with nine teenage victims he targeted while holding a position of authority. The charges against him related to seven pupils at Lagan College School in south Belfast and two Army Cadets, spanning a period between 2015 and 2023. In December last year he received a three-year sentence at Belfast Crown Court, with 18 months to be served in prison and 18 months on licence. Beckett was also put on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and made subject to a Sexual Offence Protection Order (SOPO) for five years. The sentencing judge identified the abuse of trust and authority, along with the victims' vulnerabilities, as aggravating factors. He also cited elements of grooming which continued after the defendant was made aware of the complaints against him. Beckett denied all of the allegations while on trial for a total of 29 charges. The abuse involved hugging, kissing and tickling pupils, as well as touching some of the girls under their skirts. He was ultimately acquitted on a charge of rape, but found guilty of a carrying out a series of sexual assaults. Beckett initially mounted a legal challenge against conviction before eventually abandoning the bid to clear his name. But in a separate move, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) referred the case to the Court of Appeal in an attempt to have the sentence declared unduly lenient. Counsel for the PPS argued that the assessment of Beckett's culpability and the harm he caused to his vulnerable victims was not properly dealt with. It was also claimed that the prison term was outside the appropriate range. Defence lawyers accepted there were aggravating features, including the impact his offences had on the teenage girls. But they insisted that a proportionate sentence was imposed following an assessment of all the circumstances. The court also heard Beckett has lost career opportunities and is set to remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely. Delivering judgment, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan rejected all grounds of challenge. 'This was always a case of high culpability, that was accepted by the defence, and therefore the prosecution's argument that we should increase the sentence based on the (trial) judge's mischaracterisation of culpability is unsustainable,' she said. She added: 'The judge has faithfully applied the (sentencing) guidance.' Despite dismissing the PPS reference, Dame Siobhan stressed that the victim's had been 'entirely vindicated' by Beckett's decision to abandon his appeal against conviction. 'No sentence can fully fix the impact of this offending on the lives of young girls,' she added. But speaking outside court, the father of one of Beckett's victims expressed disappointment at the outcome.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Neil Beckett: Challenge to abuser's prison term fails
A legal challenge to the prison term imposed on a former school welfare officer and army cadet leader for sexually abusing teenage girls has in the Court of Appeal rejected claims the sentencing of Neil Beckett was unduly 44, from Kilmore Village near Crossgar, was found guilty of sexual assault and inappropriate contact with nine teenage victims he targeted while holding a position of December, he received a three year sentence at Belfast Crown Court, with 18 months to be served in prison and 18 months on licence. The charges against him related to seven pupils at Lagan College School in south Belfast and two army cadets, spanning an eight-year period between 2015 and 2023.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- BBC News
Lagan College: Neil Beckett victims say school did not do enough
Victims of a former school welfare officer who was convicted of sexual assault have told BBC News NI their school did not do enough to prevent the Beckett groomed the schoolgirls and used his position as a welfare officer at Lagan College in Belfast to access vulnerable young was found guilty on 17 counts in a statement, Lagan College told the BBC: "We pay tribute to the bravery of those pupils who came forward and we assure you that the school acted properly and promptly and in accordance with Lagan College's Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, which adheres to Department of Education guidance, at all times." Two young women, who have spoken to BBC News NI anonymously, and the parents of some of the victims believe the school wasted crucial opportunities to safeguard pupils from joined Lagan College in late 2022, allegations were made against him by two pupils.A pupil said Beckett hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, another said he had given her a hug under her principal, Amanda McNamee, gave evidence during the trial and said the school safeguarding team was involved and that she took Beckett through the school's safeguarding policy and his job description "line by line".Mrs McNamee told the court that the parents involved were content with the school's then continued in his role as before and within a few months, in early 2023, further allegations were brought to Mrs McNamee and a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) investigation began. 'A kick in the teeth' Jane and Ann, not their real names, spoke to The State of Us podcast about their experiences."There was a grooming pattern of trying to befriend people, he didn't portray himself as a teacher. he portrayed himself as a friend," Jane said."He wanted to get close to you. He wanted you to let your guard down, and he used that."Ann said: "He was unnervingly charismatic. Now that I look back he just had a way of talking to you that made you feel like you could tell him anything."She said he had different ways of physically abusing his victims. "I have a lot of sensory issues and he'd tickled me, and I felt really, really weird about it." Both Ann and Jane said the majority of the abuse they suffered at Beckett's hand happened after the initial allegations against him in October 2022."That just felt like a bit of a kick in the teeth that they knew about this," Jane said."There'd been allegations made before it had happened to us. "The fact that the school didn't do enough to prevent it then is ridiculous."Ann said: "They could have prevented this, they could have stopped it there in October and we wouldn't have faced as much abuse as we did, but they didn't. "I don't think that's how a school should handle themselves." Both Jane and Ann, and several parents of Beckett's victims, have told BBC News NI that the school failed in terms of safeguarding, but also in terms of support and care for mother said the priority for Lagan College "was managing their public image, not looking after the girls who had been harmed".Another parent said the school showed an "aloofness and detachment" when dealing with the harm done to his daughter.A third parent claimed the school had taken "no responsibility and wishes to pretend this didn't happen".Both Jane and Ann said they recalled a school assembly at the time of the police investigation. They said: "We were all taken into the hall. And Mrs McNamee headed the assembly. She told us that people are innocent until proven guilty. "That, this is a member of staff and we should not be talking about it. "We can't talk to the support staff about it, we can't talk to our friends about it. "We are not allowed to mention it at all in school." They said the reason given for this was "in case they had to be on the stand in the future". Apology 'would be nice' Jane said her mum received an email from the school's board of governors."It was something along the lines of: 'As your daughter is no longer in school anymore, there's nothing, basically, we can do to help.'"She added they would like an acknowledgment of the hurt caused."An apology would be nice. But they're not going to do that." In a statement, Lagan College told BBC News NI: "The safety and wellbeing of all our pupils has at all times been, remains, and will always be Lagan College's highest priority."Mr Beckett had worked in a school environment prior to joining Lagan College, and received a clear Enhanced Disclosure Certificate from Access NI, and had appropriate references for his position."We are unable to comment any further at this stage to ensure that we do not prejudice legal action." You can listen to this story in full on The State Of Us later here to subscribe and listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds every Tuesday and Thursday.
