Teacher jailed for raping teenage girl 30 years ago in flat on site of Hertfordshire school

A teacher who raped a teenage girl in a flat on school property 30 years ago has been jailed.

The victim, now in her 40s came forward in 2020 after initially confiding in a friend about the rape at the time.

She later told police she was paralysed with fear and that she “shut down” and could not react or call out during the attack.

Alun Pickford, 54, was a junior teacher in the early 1990s at Aldenham School, Hertfordshire when the rape happened.

He was jailed for seven years after being found guilty of rape by a jury at St Albans Crown Court.

Pickford, now of Bratton in Wiltshire, had invited the teenager to stay overnight at his one-bedroom flat on the school estate. They were not in any kind of relationship.

He offered her his bed to sleep in while he slept on the sofa, but during the night he entered the bedroom and got into the bed with her.

A witness said they had seen the victim coming from the direction of Pickford’s flat in the early morning, while another said that Pickford had later boasted about the incident.

In interviews with police, Pickford denied the incident had happened or that the girl had ever stayed at his flat but could not offer an explanation as to why the witnesses would lie about what happened.

Pickford’s role as a teacher who was entrusted with the safety and wellbeing of young people was an aggravating feature of the sentence, said police.

Det Con Sam Hunt said: “I would like to commend the actions of the victim in coming forward after all this time to report what happened to her. She has shown incredible strength and determination to see this investigation through.

“Pickford’s attack on her when she was barely an adult has stayed with her all her life. I hope his conviction brings her some closure and the opportunity to move on.”

She added: “Pickford continued to work as a teacher in subsequent years. We have worked with local authority and education partners to ensure the safety of young people since the report was received."

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