Former teacher admits sex attacks on children

Former teacher admits sex attacks on children

Wednesday, October 07, 2009,

A FEMALE former teacher is facing jail after sexually assaulting young children she had followed into public toilets.



Carol Clarke, 46,(pictured above) was described by police as a "predatory paedophile" after she admitted sex attacks on boys and girls – most aged between four and seven – in North East Lincolnshire.

She was acting alone.

Police were today quick to reassure parents, stressing that incidents involving a solitary female paedophile were "extremely rare" – occurring in only about five per cent of sex abuse cases.

Clarke, of Cromwell Road, Grimsby, worked as a part-time tutor for adult students at Franklin College in Grimsby between October 2003 and April 2007 and also taught adults from home.

However, the offences relate to younger children, dating as far back as 1992.

On the day she was due to stand trial at Grimsby Crown Court, Clarke admitted following children into public toilets to assault them.

The official charge is worded as "causing a nuisance to the public in North East Lincolnshire by, over a period of years, up to January 2009, following children into public toilets for the purpose of indecently assaulting them".

She also admitted two counts of indecently assaulting a child during or before June 1992 in North East Lincolnshire and three charges of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 during or before August 2008.

One of the sexual assaults occurred in a public toilet in Grimsby's Market Hall, with two others occurring in public toilets in Woodhall Spa. Six other counts of sexual assaults, which she denied, will not be pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service but will remain on file.

The exact number of offences and victims is not known, but, the court heard that she told police she had committed about 100 offences on a small number of children.

The court heard her offending came to light after she sought help from mental health teams, who alerted police.

She was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on December 14.

Representing Clarke, David Lee said: "She was recognising the feelings that she had and was trying to get as much therapy as she could."

In the subsequent investigation, detectives from Humberside Police worked with officers from the behavioural analysis unit of the national Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Det Sgt Stewart Watson said: "Predatory paedophiles such as Carol Clarke are rare.

"Experts agree that women commit only a fraction of child sexual abuse but as little is known about female offenders, it is difficult to be accurate.

"There are claims that between five per cent and 10 per cent of abuse against pre-pubescent children in the UK is committed by females. However, only about five per cent are thought to involve a woman acting alone, like Clarke.

"There are still those members of the general public and even some experts who still ignore women's capacity for sexual abuse.

"Thankfully education is challenging these beliefs."

Franklin College principal Peter Newcome said: "She was employed as a part-time tutor for part-time adult learners, teaching English for speakers of another language.

"She taught very much in the open with people around and had no students under the age of 19."

The case comes just days after nursery worker Vanessa George admitted sexually assaulting children in her care in Plymouth – a case which shocked the nation.

Police and child protection experts reassure North East Lincolnshire residents that predatory paedophiles are "extremely rare"

http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/news/teacher-admits-sex-attacks-children/article-1397017-detail/article.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218804/Woman-teacher-exposed-predatory-paedophile-sexually-abused-young-children-followed-public-toilets.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6270156/Female-predatory-paedophile-abused-children-in-public-lavatories.html

Predatory' female abuser jailed

Monday, 14 December 2009



A woman labelled a "predatory paedophile" by police has been given an indeterminate prison sentence after she admitted sexually abusing children.

Carol Clarke, 46, assaulted children she followed into toilets in Grimsby and other places in Lincolnshire.

Grimsby Crown Court heard that Clarke, of Cromwell Road, Grimsby, had admitted abusing children, aged between four and seven, over 30 years.

Judge David Tremberg said she would serve a minimum of four years in jail.

He told Clarke she would only be released from prison once parole board members were satisfied she no longer posed a risk to young children or the public.

"This is a sad and deeply troubling case," he said.

Rare case

Det Sgt Stewart Watson of Humberside Police said: "Predatory paedophiles such as Carol Clarke are rare.

"Experts agree that women commit only a fraction of child sexual abuse but, as little is known about female offenders, it is difficult to be accurate.

"There are still those members of the general public and even some experts who ignore women's capacity for sexual abuse.

Judge Tremberg told her: "From the time you were a very young woman you have had and maintained a very worrying sexual preference, in particular young girls ."

Dozens of offences

Clarke, who won a place at Cambridge University after being head girl at her school, was "clearly an intelligent woman" and could have endeavoured not to indulge her interest in children, he added.

At an earlier hearing Clarke admitted abusing young boys and girls, with some of her offences dating back to before 1992.

Her offences ranged from assaulting children in toilets in Grimsby town centre to targeting them at a caravan park in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.

Gordon Stables, prosecuting, said the case had been brought based on the confessions of Clarke, after she was reported to police earlier this year by a mental health care worker.

She is believed to have committed dozens of offences.

Mr Stables told the court Clarke had taken a job in an ice-cream van in order to try to get close to children, and had used events organised by her church to come into contact with youngsters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8412861.stm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6811749/Predatory-paedophile-Carol-Clarke-jailed-for-abusing-children.html

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Carol-Clarke-Described-As-Predatory-Paedophile-Gets-Indeterminate-Sentence-For-Child-Sex-Abuse/Article/200912215500104?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15500104_Carol_Clarke%2C_Described_As_Predatory_Paedophile%2C_Gets_Indeterminate_Sentence_For_Child_Sex_Abuse#