Former Wymondham College teacher banned over alleged sexual assault on two women

A former teacher has been banned from teaching ever again over allegations he sexually assaulted two women after a night out.

Deane Anderton is alleged to have used such force, holding down one woman down in his bed, that she was left with bruises and scratches on her body.

Mr Anderton was a PE teacher at Wymondham College in Norfolk when the attacks are said to have happened, according to a misconduct report published by the Teaching Regulation Agency on Monday.

The 32-year-old denies the allegations and no criminal charges were brought following a police investigation.

Anderton had been working at the college for more than four years at the time of the alleged offences in October 2021.

After a night out, a group went back to Mr Anderton's home to stay the night, during which time the attacks are said to have taken place.

One woman claimed she was grabbed by her wrists and held down on his bed, suffering bruises and scratches to her body.

She told the panel Mr Anderton had ignored her when she told him "no or stop", and that he assaulted her more than once and forced her to touch him.

The second woman said Mr Anderton tried to put his hand under her top and jeans. She said she tried to stop him by wrapping her arms around her body, saying her muscles "were seizing up and were sore from holding myself tightly for a significant period of time".

Mr Anderton, who was 29 at the time, said he did not use any force and insisted activity with the first woman was consensual.

He denied anything had happened with the second woman.

The Teaching Regulation Agency's misconduct panel also considered character references in favour of Mr Anderton. One person described Anderton as "very principled" and another said he was "honest and trustworthy".

The panel said the allegations were likely to be true.

Explaining its decision in a report, the panel said "the lack of insight and remorse means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour".

A spokesman for Norfolk Police said: "An incident of sexual assault was reported to us. We investigated and no further action was taken."

It is understood there was difficulty with the evidence.

A spokesperson for Sapientia Education Trust, which runs Wymondham College, said as soon as the school became aware of the allegations, it took "robust action" and "appropriate support was offered to those involved".

They said: "This included appropriate referrals to relevant external agencies and a full disciplinary process that resulted in dismissal and referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency.

"The local authority designated officer (from Norfolk County Council) was fully involved at all times, ensuring a multi-agency approach was undertaken."

They added that "we expect our staff to uphold high standards of personal conduct, in accordance with the national teacher standards".

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