Former Eton teacher charged with sexually assaulting three boys

Mowbray was dismissed from the school following his arrest in May last year

Reading Crown Court where Matthew Mowbray appeared charged with sexual assault (Alamy Stock Photo)

A former teacher at Eton College has been charged with sexually assaulting three boys.

Matthew Mowbray was dismissed from the leading public school, near Windsor, in Berkshire following his arrest in May last year.

Eton is one of the country's most prestigious schools, with fees of more than £40,000 a year, and was attended by the duke of Cambridge, the duke of Sussex, and Boris Johnson.

Mr Mowbray appeared at Slough Magistrates' Court on Tuesday charged with 11 offences, including seven counts of sexual assault relating to three alleged victims.

He is also accused of voyeurism and three counts of making indecent photographs.

Mr Mowbray, who lives in the village of Locks Heath, near Southampton, was granted bail and will next appear at Reading Crown Court on 31 March for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

A letter seen by the Press Association news agency from Eton's headmaster Simon Henderson was sent to parents this week informing them of the case.

The boys' boarding school, which was founded by King Henry VI in 1440, has around 1,300 pupils aged between 13 and 18.

A spokesman for the school said: “Eton College can confirm that, as a result of information passed by the school to the local authority designated officer (Lado) and to the police, a member of staff was arrested in May 2019, suspended from work and subsequently dismissed.

“He has been charged with a number of criminal offences and given the ongoing criminal proceedings, we cannot comment further about the details of this case.

“The welfare and wellbeing of our pupils is Eton's top priority and when appropriate, as in this case, we always work very closely with the relevant external agencies, in line with our established procedures.”

Press Association

UPDATE 09.03.20: A caption in a previous version of this article erroneously reported that Matthew Mowbray had been found guilty at Reading Crown Court. We would like to make clear that at the time of publication, Matthew Mowbray had been charged with three counts of sexual assault, and no finding of fact had been made against him. We apologise for this error.