Teacher accused of orchestrating rape

Derek Barker, a former boarding school teacher, denies eight sexual offences involving four boys at Monkton Combe School in Bath. The 92-year-old stands accused of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the buggery of one pupil by an older schoolboy during the 1970s and 1980s.

Bristol Crown Court heard live testimony from the first complainant on Wednesday. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, described a video interview played to jurors the previous day. He stated that a fellow pupil instructed him to visit Barker’s flat at the school.

Upon arrival, the complainant said an older boy was present. That boy asked him to remove his trousers for a leg massage before taking off his underwear. The complainant told police he felt terrified and confused by the situation, particularly with a teacher watching.

"I was so surprised, so unexpected and so out of my depth and after a bit the boy took his clothes off and he proceeded to rape me," the man said in the recorded interview. He added that the experience hurt and frightened him, noting that Barker appeared to enjoy the incident while masturbating.

The complainant testified that the abuse occurred on multiple occasions. He contacted police in 2022, stating he initially wanted only an apology and acknowledgment from Barker rather than a criminal case. He said he had not received that apology and had lived with the effects of the abuse his entire life.

Defence solicitor Tabitha Macfarlane told the court that Barker denies being present during the incidents. She stated that he denies masturbating and denies organising the events. The older pupil involved in the buggery charges died before police began their investigation.

Barker resigned from Monkton Combe School in the 1980s citing ill health. Jurors were told that shortly before his resignation, he allegedly asked another pupil to tie him to a bed in his underwear. That pupil took a photograph, which was developed in the school lab and later removed by another teacher.

Barker, of Limpley Stoke, Somerset, faces three charges of buggery, three of indecency with a child, and two of indecent assault. The buggery charges reference the law in force before the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Judge Euan Ambrose presides over the ongoing trial.