Four former teachers at a West Sussex boarding school have been charged with a range of sexual offences including rape against 15 male and female alleged victims across a 16-year period.
The accused, all men in their 60s and 70s who taught at Christ’s Hospital school near Horsham, face a combined total of 36 counts relating to alleged offences between 1980 and 1996. They were arrested last November.
Gary Dobbie, 66, is charged with seven counts of indecent assault on a male, one count of attempted indecent assault on a male and three counts of indecent assault on a female.
James Husband, 67, is charged with five counts of indecent assault on a female and four of rape, and Ajaz Karim, 62, is charged with nine counts of indecent assault on a female and one of attempted indecent assault on a female.
Peter Webb, 74, is charged with six counts of indecent assault on a male. The four men will appear at Crawley magistrates court on 9 August.
Christ’s Hospital charges boarders about £32,500 a year and counts Sir Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the bouncing bomb, and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge among its former pupils.
In a statement, the school said: “Christ’s Hospital is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its pupils and continues to provide its full support to the police in their investigations.
“We would always encourage anyone who has been a victim of abuse to come forward. As criminal proceedings are active, we are unable to share any further information at this time.”
