Ex-teacher Peter Webb jailed for third time over Horsham sex attacks

Peter Webb, 77, was sent to prison in 2015 and 2017 after admitting similar offences against pupils whom he taught at Christ's Hospital School in Horsham.

At the latest trial, he was convicted of three counts of indecent assault on a boy pupil then aged between 11 and 12 years old in the early 1970s.

On Wednesday, the judge at Hove Crown Court jailed him for 12 months.

Webb had already been given sentences, imposed in 2015 and 2017, for a series of indecent assaults on five other boys at the school between 1974 and 1984, where he was employed as a woodwork teacher and housemaster.

He was still a serving prisoner at the time of this latest trial, Sussex Police said.

The latest sentence will begin following the end of his current term in prison.

Det Sgt Rebecca Wilde, from Sussex Police, said: "This is the third time that Webb has faced justice, as his victims from so many years ago have gradually found the strength to come forward.

"He had systematically targeted this vulnerable young boy, as he had all the others, while he was in a position of authority and trust, for his own sexual gratification.

"He made the boy feel special, establishing in effect a secret relationship with him over many months."

"To this day the victim remembers, as well as the distressing events, the distinctive aroma of stale alcohol and tobacco that he associates with Webb," the officer added.

Christ's Hospital School was founded by Edward VI in 1552. It costs about £35,800 a year to attend.

A Sussex Police spokesman said the force had had "full co-operation" from the school during its investigation.

"The events in this case occurred more than 45 years ago and have no relation to the current or recent management of the school and its pupils," the police spokesman added.

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