LORENZO GANDINI FROM WEST MOLESEY SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR ABUSE IN GUILDFORD
| Red Rose Database
West Molesey Child Sexual Abuser
In December 2007, Lorenzo Gandini, originally from Rome and residing in West Molesey, was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of sexual abuse involving a 15-year-old girl. Gandini groomed her with a series of love letters, text messages, and phone calls before engaging in sexual activity, Guildford Crown Court was told last week.
Gandini, a qualified fencing instructor and artist, worked at the girl’s school and fencing club as well as providing private tuition at his home. The court heard that he kissed female pupils after duels and shook hands with male students. A close friend of the victim, who cannot be named but was described as being "knocking on the door of the British fencing team," testified that Gandini was affectionate towards his pupils, often patting girls on the bottom and being "touchy-feely and huggy."
Prosecutor Simon Wild described Gandini’s manipulative behavior: "He’d planned a campaign to seduce her. Love letters escalated to late-night phone calls with increasingly sexual content. One Saturday, when his wife was away, he had sex with her."
It was revealed that Gandini, who slept with the girl—now 20—eight to ten times over several months in 2003, also bought her jewelry, a prom dress, lace underwear, and carved her an elaborate wooden rose. The love letters, a key part of the prosecution’s case, were discovered by chance when Gandini, after experiencing a breakdown, fled to America to escape his now-former wife.
Three months later, in May of the previous year, Gandini’s then-wife reported him missing, leading police to find draft copies of the letters at his house. One letter read, "My foxy lady, I love you and I miss you." Gandini claimed the letters were fabricated and that the victim — who did not take the stand but gave evidence — had concocted them with her boyfriend to make him jealous.
The victim’s best friend told the court that Gandini had shared explicit details of his sexual relationship with her, which left her "disgusted." Gandini was also invited to the victim’s 16th birthday party in 2003 and attended her best friend’s party shortly before. During that event, she overheard Gandini flirting with another girl, trying to flirt and actively attempting to pick her up. The friend recounted that Gandini was "very flirtatious".
At the victim’s party, Gandini was again a guest and proudly presented a wooden rose he had carved as a gift. When she rejected it by shoving it under a sofa, Gandini stormed out of the room. The following morning, the victim confided in her friend about having had a sexual relationship with Gandini.
Despite several people being aware of the romantic relationship, no formal accusations were made until the girls, who were preparing for university, warned another girl they suspected might become a new victim. The victim informed her headteacher, who in turn questioned Gandini about the allegations; he denied everything and offered to resign, which was refused.
Gandini was found guilty by a jury of two counts of abusing his position of trust under the Sexual Offences Act. He was sentenced to 12 months for each count, to be served consecutively. Judge H Dunn QC described Gandini’s conduct as "really quite disgraceful," stating, "You are an educated man without any doubt at all. This was an extremely serious and important case. It must have been a shocking experience for the victim, whether she was enjoying it or not."
Gandini, a qualified fencing instructor and artist, worked at the girl’s school and fencing club as well as providing private tuition at his home. The court heard that he kissed female pupils after duels and shook hands with male students. A close friend of the victim, who cannot be named but was described as being "knocking on the door of the British fencing team," testified that Gandini was affectionate towards his pupils, often patting girls on the bottom and being "touchy-feely and huggy."
Prosecutor Simon Wild described Gandini’s manipulative behavior: "He’d planned a campaign to seduce her. Love letters escalated to late-night phone calls with increasingly sexual content. One Saturday, when his wife was away, he had sex with her."
It was revealed that Gandini, who slept with the girl—now 20—eight to ten times over several months in 2003, also bought her jewelry, a prom dress, lace underwear, and carved her an elaborate wooden rose. The love letters, a key part of the prosecution’s case, were discovered by chance when Gandini, after experiencing a breakdown, fled to America to escape his now-former wife.
Three months later, in May of the previous year, Gandini’s then-wife reported him missing, leading police to find draft copies of the letters at his house. One letter read, "My foxy lady, I love you and I miss you." Gandini claimed the letters were fabricated and that the victim — who did not take the stand but gave evidence — had concocted them with her boyfriend to make him jealous.
The victim’s best friend told the court that Gandini had shared explicit details of his sexual relationship with her, which left her "disgusted." Gandini was also invited to the victim’s 16th birthday party in 2003 and attended her best friend’s party shortly before. During that event, she overheard Gandini flirting with another girl, trying to flirt and actively attempting to pick her up. The friend recounted that Gandini was "very flirtatious".
At the victim’s party, Gandini was again a guest and proudly presented a wooden rose he had carved as a gift. When she rejected it by shoving it under a sofa, Gandini stormed out of the room. The following morning, the victim confided in her friend about having had a sexual relationship with Gandini.
Despite several people being aware of the romantic relationship, no formal accusations were made until the girls, who were preparing for university, warned another girl they suspected might become a new victim. The victim informed her headteacher, who in turn questioned Gandini about the allegations; he denied everything and offered to resign, which was refused.
Gandini was found guilty by a jury of two counts of abusing his position of trust under the Sexual Offences Act. He was sentenced to 12 months for each count, to be served consecutively. Judge H Dunn QC described Gandini’s conduct as "really quite disgraceful," stating, "You are an educated man without any doubt at all. This was an extremely serious and important case. It must have been a shocking experience for the victim, whether she was enjoying it or not."