MILLIONAIRE JAILED FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
A millionaire businessman who purchased a boarding school to commit sexual offenses against students has received a prison sentence of over three years.Brian Martin, now aged 71, exploited his position as Chairman of the Governors at Queen Ethelburga’s School, a fee-paying institution near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to groom and sexually abuse both a male and a female student.
He had appointed himself as ‘Provost’ of the school, which cost £37,000 annually.
Parents were left stunned when Martin shut down the original school building and relocated the pupils to a new facility on his estate at Thorpe Underwood Hall, near York.
Detective Sergeant Graeme Bevington, who led the investigation, expressed disgust at Martin’s conduct.
He stated: ‘Brian Martin was respected in his community and a successful businessman.
His wealth enabled him to acquire Queen Ethelburga’s School and move it from Harrogate to his own estate, where he lived with his family.
‘The students believed the school offered a safe, family-oriented environment, and Martin was a central figure there.
However, despite investing heavily in the school, he manipulated the environment to serve his sinister intentions.’ The conviction related to the sexual assault of a boy in the late 2000s came after a retrial.
The case was initially heard in 2018, resulting in Martin’s acquittal at that time.
He was also found guilty in a 2019 retrial of indecently assaulting a girl in the early-to-mid 1990s.
He had previously been cleared of six other child sexual abuse charges at a 2018 trial, which involved allegations of abusing children aged 13 to 17 between 2005 and 2010.
Now residing in Ferensby near Harrogate, Martin has been added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
