HOVE MAN RAYMOND LANGLEY, 76, JAILED FOR 20 YEARS FOR PREDATORY PAEDOPHILE OFFENCES AT BOARDING SCHOOL
A former housemaster at a disgraced progressive boarding school was a predatory paedophile who raped vulnerable children with impunity.Raymond Langley, 76, of Clarendon Road in Hove was sentenced on Friday (October 10) to jail for 20 years by a judge who branded him a coward who acted with brazen confidence.
Langley worked at the Tylehurst school in Forest Row, East Sussex in the 1970s.
One of his victims said Langley preyed on him from every corner like a ghost.
A court heard he sexually abused boys as young as 13 until they were big enough to fight him off or another one came along.
He was found guilty on 16 counts of buggery and indecent assaults against two boys aged 13.
Jailing him for 20 years, Recorder Quincy Whitaker told Langley: "You committed these offences when your victims were young boys who had been sent to the school because of significant problems with their home lives.
It was supposed to be a place of safety.
Far from it, it was a place of terror.
You were supposed to be involved in safeguarding.
Not only were you aware of bullying, you exploited it." Recorder Whitaker said he abused boys "until they grew big enough to resist you or the next one came along." The court heard Langley exploited the vulnerability of his victims for his own sexual gratification, while he went on to live a life of prosperity for the next 45 years while his victims suffered severe psychological harm.
Sexual abuse between staff and pupils had become normalized at the school, and allegations against the headmaster were never investigated before his death.
Victims described feeling scared, alone, and seeking safety, with one saying, "He took advantage of me.
Being with him was my escape from them." Another said: "He knew all of my vulnerabilities.
There was nowhere to escape the torment.
I resorted to hiding from the daily horrifying rituals of the bullies.
He preyed on me like a ghost from every corner.
I've been haunted by him." The judge commended the bravery of the victims who came forward, stating it was a tribute to their resilience, courage, and character.
Langley acted with brazen confidence, making his victims go through the agony of a trial, and the court condemned his exploitation of their vulnerabilities in breach of trust.
