ROGER WHITEHOUSE FROM HAVERIGG JAILED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE AT CUMBRIA SCHOOL

In November 2019, a disturbing case unfolded involving Roger Whitehouse, a former headteacher from Haverigg, who was convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl during his tenure at a school in South Cumbria. The court proceedings revealed a pattern of inappropriate conduct that spanned several months in the 1980s, when the victim was just 16 years old.

According to the evidence presented at Carlisle Crown Court, Whitehouse, now aged 79 and residing in Seaview, Haverigg, engaged in repeated acts of sexual misconduct. The court heard that he frequently kissed and groped the girl over her clothing, often in the privacy of his locked school study. These assaults occurred multiple times a week, creating an environment of ongoing abuse within the school premises.

One particularly distressing incident involved Whitehouse attempting to kiss the girl while they were on a boat on a lake. The victim, feeling overwhelmed and frightened, feigned sea sickness as a means to escape the situation. This attempt to assault her in a seemingly secluded setting underscored the predatory nature of Whitehouse’s actions.

Whitehouse denied the allegations of indecent assault, facing multiple charges. He was tried in court, where he was acquitted of six charges but found guilty by a jury of four counts. During the trial, the victim provided emotional testimony, stating, “I didn’t want it to happen. I didn’t agree to it. I didn’t consent. I didn’t feel I could stop it because he was the headmaster.” Her words reflected the profound impact of the abuse, describing feelings of being “rotten, awful and disgusting” as a result of Whitehouse’s conduct.

Despite the conviction, the court noted that Whitehouse had not committed any offences since the incidents and acknowledged that he had faced mental health challenges and personal struggles. However, Judge Nicholas Barker emphasized that Whitehouse continued to deny the allegations and showed no remorse for his actions. The judge sentenced him to 32 months in prison and ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register for life, underscoring the severity of his misconduct.

Judge Barker also commented on the environment Whitehouse created at the school, stating, “Having heard the evidence, having seen documentary evidence, it is clear to me in many ways you ran that school as something of a private fiefdom, free from proper scrutiny and therefore free to abuse (the female) in the way that you did.”

It is noteworthy that Whitehouse had previously received a suspended prison sentence in January for an earlier case of child cruelty. This earlier offense involved his time at Witherslack School in Grange during the 1970s, where a jury concluded that he made a boy walk barefoot along a rough quarry track, resulting in cuts and bleeding on the child's feet. These historical crimes further highlight a troubling pattern of misconduct during Whitehouse’s career in education.