KENNETH WHEATLEY, FORMER SCHOOL CARE WORKER AND PAEDOPHILE, FOUND DEAD NEAR BARNSEY IN YORKSHIRE

In May 2014, it was revealed that Kenneth Wheatley, a 62-year-old man found dead near Barnsley, was a convicted paedophile and had been under investigation for historic abuse at Kesgrave Hall School. Wheatley, previously known as Kenneth Scott, was a former care worker at Kesgrave Hall, where he worked in 1988. He had previously been sentenced to eight years in prison in Leicestershire in 1986 for convictions related to buggery and gross indecency.

The discovery of Wheatley's body came just two days after his arrest by Suffolk detectives on suspicion of indecent assault as part of their inquiry into abuse at the now-closed Kesgrave Hall boarding school. The authorities announced that Wheatley’s body was found on a railway line between Dodworth and Silkstone Common on April 12. Prior to his death, he had been released on police bail following his arrest two days earlier.

Wheatley was also questioned regarding two alleged indecent assaults believed to have occurred in north Wales in 1976 when the victim was approximately 13 or 14 years old. During the investigation, Wheatley was also linked to claims of abuse by former pupils.

At the time of his arrest on April 10, Wheatley was detained alongside a 65-year-old former teacher at Kesgrave Hall, who resides in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. This individual is currently on bail until August 22 pending further inquiries.

An inquest into Wheatley’s death has been initiated and temporarily adjourned while the British Transport Police conduct their investigation. The police investigation into Kesgrave Hall abuse continues, with Suffolk Constabulary announcing the arrest of a third suspect, a man residing in north Norfolk, with claims dating back from the 1970s to the 1990s. The suspect is described as a staff member, but not a teacher, at Kesgrave Hall and has been bailed until September 1.

The long-standing inquiry into historic abuse by Suffolk police was triggered by complaints that re-emerged in December 2012. An earlier investigation in 1992 resulted in the suspension of four care workers following allegations of physical abuse, though no charges were made at that time. Kesgrave Hall, which closed as a boarding school in 1993, was home to multiple allegations of abuse.

Former teacher Alan Stancliffe, who worked at Kesgrave Hall from 1978 to 1980, was convicted multiple times for indecent assaults against boys at the school, with convictions in 1982, 1999, and 2007. In December 2012, victims and former pupils spoke publicly about the abuse they suffered during the 1980s and called for new investigations into the allegations.