Wakefield man among eight charged over school sex abuse allegations from the 1970s

It follows an investigation by West Mercia Police into allegations of child sexual and physical abuse at Rhydd Court School in Hanley Castle in Worcestershire between the late 1970s and early 1990s.

It was a council-run boarding school for boys between the ages of 10 to 19 with behavioural and learning difficulties.

Those charged includes four men and four women, including 69-year-old Michael Connor, 69, of Bedford Farm Court, Crofton, who is facing three counts of conspiracy to commit buggery, three counts of conspiracy to commit indecent assault, indecent assault, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and conspiracy to commit child cruelty.

The remaining seven are aged between 50 and 82 and are from various areas of the country, including Plymouth, Rotherham and Worcester.

They are due to appear at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, August 4.

Mark Paul, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The Crown Prosecution Service authorised West Mercia Police to charge the defendants following careful consideration of the evidence they presented to us as a result of their ongoing investigation."

The investigation relates to allegations made when the premises was owned by the local authority. The premises have since been sold.