Music teacher found guilty of grooming underage pupils

Ben Breakwell, aged 40, originally from York, was convicted on 2 August 2021 of 32 counts of sexual offences against young girls who he groomed and then sexually abused between 2014 and 2017.  The convictions all related to three girls aged between 13 and 16, in addition to a conviction for indecent images of a fourth child, all pupils at the same West London school where he was a music teacher.

Breakwell’s crimes came to light after one of his victims disclosed what happened to friends and her mother, who then confronted Breakwell.  Following discovery of Breakwell’s crimes the school immediately suspended him and police launched an investigation before arresting Breakwell in November 2017.

Breakwell was charged in February 2020 and at trial convicted on 22 counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, one count of sexual assault, and two counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.  He will be sentenced in October 2021 and has been remanded in custody.

Detective Constable Ben Lawrence-Smith urged other potential victims to come forward, saying “ My thoughts are with the young girls who were betrayed by Breakwell. They have all been incredibly brave and it is their courage in speaking out that has brought him to justice.  Breakwell deceived and abused these girls and then sought to evade any responsibility for his actions. They were manipulated to the point where some felt it was they who were doing wrong. The fact Breakwell was a teacher only compounds this gross betrayal of trust.”

David Hawkins, a specialist in Child Abuse law at Verisona Law commented “Breakwell abused his position of trust in order to manipulate these young girls and because of the predatory nature of his crimes it is possible there may be other victims of his that have yet to come forward.  I would urge anyone affected by this to contact the Police who will speak to you in complete confidence.  If you need any advice upon your legal rights you can also speak to our award winning child abuse team who can help you with any queries you may have.