JAIL SENTENCE FOR JONATHAN O'BRIEN IN KIDDERMINSTER AND SEX OFFENCES IN WEST SUSSEX

A convicted sex offender, Jonathan O'Brien, 61, who previously targeted young boys while working as a teacher in the Kidderminster area, has been sentenced for additional offences. O'Brien spent over ten years grooming boys during his tenure at Winterfold House School, as well as at institutions in West Sussex and Oxfordshire during the 1980s and 1990s.

He was already serving a prison sentence for sexual misconduct involving young boys when he was convicted again last month. It emerged that the victim took more than 20 years to report the harassment, which occurred when he was a teenager and O'Brien taught at Seaford College in Petworth, West Sussex, in 1992.

Further revelations indicated that O'Brien had indecently assaulted male students up to 170 miles away in Worcestershire and Oxfordshire just a few years before.

In 2014, O'Brien was convicted of multiple sexual offences from the 1980s, including five charges of gross indecency and 15 counts of indecent assault. He denied all charges, and was cleared of two additional indecent assaults. Twelve of these offences involved seven boys at Winterfold House School, where he taught sports and photography between 1980 and 1985. The remaining offences involved three pupils at The Oratory School near Reading between 1985 and 1989.

Police Constable Yvonne Daddow explained that O'Brien exploited a supposed interest in computers to groom a young boy, who kept the traumatic experiences to himself. She stated, "This offending came to light when the victim contacted us for the first time in 2017. Having courageously come forward, he supported our investigation and was ready to give evidence in court if necessary."

She added that O'Brien had used the shared interest in computers to gradually groom the boy in his study and home in Oxfordshire. The victim, who kept his ordeal secret for over 20 years, was prompted to come forward after a family discussion triggered by media coverage on sexual offending.

The case demonstrates the police's commitment to pursuing justice regardless of how long ago the offences occurred. Seaford College cooperated with the investigation, which was carried out by the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit. Officials confirmed that the assaults are not connected to any current management of the school or its pupils.

O'Brien pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault at Guildford Crown Court on May 24. He denied two additional counts against the same boy, which will remain on the court record. He was sentenced to 13 years, to run concurrently with his previous sentences for sexual offences in Kidderminster and Oxfordshire.

Previously, O'Brien was sentenced in 2014 to 13 years in prison for offences committed between 1980 and 1989 and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He was also given a Sexual Offence Prevention Order (SOPO), which imposes strict restrictions on his contact with children.