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Former Housemaster at Royal Alexandra and Albert School jailed for seven years

A former housemaster at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School has been jailed for seven years for sexual assaults on children between the 1970s through to 1990s.

Posted on 03 December 2019

Allen Meredith, 72 from Oxfordshire, was sentenced last week at St Albans Court to seven years imprisonment and will continue to be on the sex offenders register for life after pleading guilty to 14 charges of sexual offences against children. 

The Court heard details of the offences perpetrated by Meredith and the judge expressed directly to Meredith that this was “grotesque” sexual abuse, involving prolific assaults against children whom he was supposed to be caring for.

The judge also commented on Meredith’s use of emotional manipulation and harassment following attempts to assault children at the school, particularly in instances where he had been unsuccessful in his attempts. It was also noted that Meredith had friendly relationships with the parents of the children he had subjected to abuse, and that his continued offending was due to a feeling that he was “untouchable”.

Meredith was a housemaster at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School in the 1980s before working at the Royal Caledonian School between 1980s and 1990s. He was previously convicted in 1996 for abuse perpetrated against a student at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School. In 2012, when Meredith was further convicted for the abuse of a student at the Royal Caledonian School, he was then questioned about some of the complainants in this trial where he denied any possible abuse against the survivors. 

Solicitors Alison Millar and Andrew Lord from the abuse team at Leigh Day have spoken with a number of the complainants in the recent trial of Allen Meredith.

Alison Millar, whose team represents two former pupils who were sexually abused by Allen Meredith, said:

 “Despite his dismissal from the Royal Alexandra and Albert school in 1985 following a disclosure of abuse made by one of the survivors of abuse, Meredith was able to return to a teaching post in the Royal Caledonian School, where he continued to abuse boys.

“We believe legislation should be introduced which makes it mandatory for anyone working in an institution with children to pass on any concerns relating to child abuse to the relevant authorities so that an investigation can take place.” 

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Andrew Lord
Abuse claims Human rights

Andrew Lord

Andrew Lord is a senior associate solicitor in the abuse claims team.

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Alison Millar
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Alison Millar

Alison Millar works in the human rights department at Leigh Day, where she is the head of abuse claims

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