Music teacher jailed for 'exceptionally serious' sex attacks

A former music teacher has been jailed for 11 years today after being found guilty of "exceptionally serious" sex attacks on two schoolgirls and a young woman in sound-proof practice rooms.

Philip Pickett, 64, who taught at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, was found guilty of two rapes and two indecent assaults on his victims between 1979 and 1983.

The professional recorder player lured vulnerable pupils into practice rooms where no one would hear their screams before shutting the door, turning out the light and assaulting them, the court heard.

Pickett ordered one victim, who was 16 at the time, to remove her top during a lesson, suggesting she needed to work on her breathing before he told her to lie on the floor where he indecently assaulted her.

In the following lesson, the girl was raped by Pickett.

Charges were brought against Pickett after one of the victims alerted police after being prompted in light of the Jimmy Savile sex scandal.