A SCHOOLMASTER who abused his position of trust by indecently assaulting boys in his care has been jailed for six years.

A judge told David Dean he had ruined the life of one of his victims and abused those who were in his care.

Dean, now 59, was working at a Kent preparatory school, Vernon Holme, at Harbledown, near Canterbury, during the 1970s, when he began a series of sex offences, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

But even those boys who had not been victims of his abuse would remember him for the type of person he was.

“He was domineering, unbalanced in some ways, and he had a violent temper --something that even the headmaster was troubled about.

“Yet many of these young men will give evidence that David Dean was capable of great kindness,” said prosecutor Robin Johnson.

Pupils at Vernon Holme ranged in age between eight and 12 years old, when they would move on to secondary schools.

Among them was a youngster, now a man in his 30s, who spoke of being sexually abused by Dean on “many, many occasions,” said Mr Johnson.

Dean had denied nine allegations involving this boy. They were sample counts, reflecting a pattern of behaviour that was to be repeated over and over again.

The victim recalled that the first time anything happened was when David Dean took him for a carpentry lesson.

“Mr Dean would appear behind him and rub himself against that boy, and that happened on many occasions.”

As the boy was using the urinals, the teacher would regularly appear and touch his private parts.

“His duties also took him into the boys’ dormitories and the young man remembers that he used to put his hands under the covers while he was in bed, then inside his pyjamas, and touch his private parts.”

A common feature of Dean’s time at the school would be that he would invite boys to his house, or chalet, in the grounds, where one of the treats was for them to have a bubble bath.

Dean would use the opportunity to go into the bathroom and touch the boys.

In the case of this particular boy, the touching in the bath became worse as time went on. There were other occasions when the boy was subjected to indecency, including oral sex, when Dean had an opportunity of being alone with him.

In addition Dean had denied two charges involving a second boy.

A third boy, who went to the school in 1982, after the other boys had left, remembered not only Dean’s temper, but a sinister assault in which he was taken into Dean’s bedroom, blindfolded and his shorts removed. He was touched indecently for a significant period, said Mr Johnson.

“Other boys fall short of indecent allegations but they speak of his behaviour. Throughout, there is the trait of being generous at times and quite cruel at other times.”

Many years went by before the first victim made a complaint, leading to Dean’s arrest in 2001.

Throughout a series of interviews he denied any wrongdoing, saying he could not believe that anybody would make these allegations.

As the police continued their investigations, he was seen again in February 2002 and asked about other boys. He continued to make denials.

But, said Mr Johnson, a time came when he pleaded guilty to indecent assaults against two boys.

He told the jury: “The prosecution say the evidence is relevant to your considerations.

“We say that when interviewed, Mr Dean was telling a pack of lies about two of these young men, who will be giving evidence in this trial.”

Dean, of Chine Cliff, Cliff Road, Totland, Isle of Wight, denied a total of 11 counts of indecent assault and admitted two others. He was found guilty of six charges involving the first victim and two involving a second boy.

His pleas of guilty related to two further victims.

After all their verdicts had been returned the jury learned for the first time of the chequered history of the case.

Dean had originally pleaded guilty to two offences at a plea and directions hearing at Canterbury Crown Court earlier this year, then to a further three concerning the main victim.

He repeated those pleas in front of a jury and then applied to withdraw them, which led to that jury having to be discharged and a fresh trial arranged.

Judge Anthony Webb told Dean today: “That young man was in court when you retracted your pleas of guilty, and heard what you had to say about him on that occasion.

“You targeted him from a young age. You systematically abused him and the emotional and psychological damage that he has suffered is plain for all to see. “You have ruined his life.”

In addition, said the judge, Dean had abused the authority and trust that had been placed in him.

The offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate.

Dean was also ordered to pay £12,000 towards the recovery of costs.