Lincoln Cathedral school deputy head jailed for sexual abuse

An ex-Church of England deputy headmaster who sexually abused six young boys has been jailed.

Roy Griffiths, 82, from Sherborne, Dorset, was also a former boarding house master at the now defunct Lincoln Cathedral school in the 1960s.

He admitted the charges, which date between January 1963 and July 1970, at a previous Lincoln Crown Court hearing.

He was given a sentence of six years and seven months, half of which he will serve in prison.

Griffiths will be released on licence for the remainder of his sentence.

In court, one of his victims read out a statement speaking of the "fear" he had of the former deputy head teacher, who was responsible for boys boarding at the school.

"I have said all along I will appreciate a sorry more than anything," the victim said.

"The timing of Roy Griffiths' plea fails to suggest much implied regret.... rather a desire to hold onto his personal power over us little boys."

Griffiths had originally denied the six charges of indecent assault, but later changed his plea to guilty at the start of his trial on 3 April.

He was arrested as part of an investigation into historical complaints of sexual abuse involving clergy and teachers employed by the Church of England Lincoln Diocese.

Det Sup Rick Hatton, of Lincolnshire Police, said Griffiths had "shown no remorse for his actions".

"The nature of his offences has been devastating for his victims and their families," he said.

"The effects of the suffering of the victims from Griffiths' abuse will probably never leave them but I hope the conclusion of this case today will assist them in their recovery.

"I want to pay tribute to the courage of those victims in being prepared to give evidence in court following our initial efforts to trace them."

Mr Hatton appealed for other former pupils to contact the force as part of its operation Redstone inquiry, which followed a review of past safeguarding cases by the Diocese of Lincoln.

More than 250 former pupils, their families and school staff were identified, with some of those now living in Australia, Canada, France, Poland and Spain, he said.

The detective said it was a complex case because most of the records from the Cathedral school had been "destroyed after it merged with others to form the Lincoln Minster School in 1996".