A victim of a school health and welfare officer officer said his sentencing is "justice but not closure" as the impact of the abuse she suffered will affect her for the rest of her life.
Anne (not her real name) first went to see Neil Beckett, the former Health and Welfare Officer at Lagan College in Belfast, for the first time when she was in lower sixth. She began to see him more regularly the following year, as she saw him as a good person to talk to.
Neil Clarke Beckett from Kilmore Village, Crossgar, has today been handed a three-year sentence for sexually assaulting and having inappropriate contact with nine female pupils, aged beween 14 and 17 during the years at 2022-2023 at Lagan College.
Read more: School welfare officer convicted of sexually abusing teenage girls
Read more: Sex offender Neil Beckett branded a “predator and manipulator” by ex colleague
The sentence imposed upon Neil Clarke Beckett was divided equally between 18 months in prison followed by 18 months on supervised licence. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period and was made the subject of a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
He was also sentenced for sexual offences against two young females, aged between 12 and 16, both members of the Army Cadets when he was a leader between 2014 and 2019.
The 43-year-old was arrested and subsequently charged with one count of rape, 26 of sexual assault, one of sexual communications with a child and one count of sexual grooming.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Anne, a former Lagan College pupil, has spoken out about the impact Beckett's abuse has had on her. The now 20-year-old said she is less trusting of people, has become more withdrawn, and needs to give permission before she is hugged.
She said: "I went to see him for some medical issues, and he seemed like a nice person to talk to. In my upper sixth year, I started to go more regularly, like a couple of times a week, almost every day at one point. I talked to him about my issues as he was a good person to talk to for that.
"He would hug me every time I would go to him, even if it wasn't for a comforting reason. That was a little weird but I didn't realise that at the time. There was an incident when he tickled me, which is where I started to feel like this was a little weird and a bit off, so I started seeing him less and less.
"It came out in the news in the January of the next year and that's when I reported it."
Anne and a friend would sometimes go to Beckett's office together, and started to discuss his behaviour. However, the pupils said they didn't know if his behaviour was extreme enough to be reported.
She added: "A friend of mine I would go to regularly to go to his office together a lot of the time, the main reason we talked to each other about it was in the December of my upper sixth year, she called me and said he had bought us both boxes of chocolate.
"We started to discuss with each other that it was strange, and we would discuss other things that happened to us we felt strange about. We didn't know if it was something that would be reportable - if it was serious enough at that time. Then it came out in the news he had abused a number of girls, and my friend and I came forward."
As for how she felt when she first heard the news of Beckett's arrest, and how she feels now upon sentencing, Anne said: "I didn't believe it at first, I think I was in denial at that stage.
"The morning I reported it I spoke to my mother, I told her he had been weird with me too. It was the way she responded and the way she looked at me, that I knew there was something wrong, that it wasn't right.
"I don't think it will give closure, I think it'll be good to know he can't do this again, and that he's not able to hurt anyone else. It's justice but it's not closure, because this is going to affect me for the rest of my life, just because of how selfish and disgusting of a man he was."
Anne's dad, John (not his real name) told us the process of seeing his daughter suffer has been painful. He said when you send your children to school, you trust they're in a safe space.
"I suppose some of the things that come to mind are the fact she feels guilty for not coming forward or realising sooner, and more younger girls were then abused," John said.
"Also to see her own life plans as a young student being upset and having to miss her first year of university and then the trial starts in her first month of university. it's all been very destabilising, to see the change in her behavior and her mood, and being withdrawn. It's very painful to watch.
"You send your children to school and you trust that they're in a safe place, and you trust there are all these rules and regulations and checks and balances to make sure there aren't sexual predators in school.
"One of the most shocking things for us as a family to learn is Beckett has previously been interviewed under caution in 2020 for sexually assaulting a cadet. Yet a year later, in 2021, he gets a job in Lagan College as a health and welfare officer with direct and individual access to children."
The PSNI's Detective Inspector Noelle Gray said many of Beckett's victims had vulnerabilities he preyed on. She said: "He was not remorseful, he did prey on vulnerable girls.
"Most of the girls we dealt with in the investigation did have vulnerabilities whether it's their mental health, whether it's autism, they were circulated on a list around the school for that reason.
"He was the health and welfare officer - the girls went to his office trusting the man that was there. This man hugged these females, he abused them, that is what he preyed on."
If you have been affected by the contents of this story, you can seek help by contacting Nexus on [email protected] or 028 9032 6803, Childline on 0800 1111 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. You can also contact the 24 Hour Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline on 0808 802 1414, email [email protected] and live chat at www.dsahelpline.org.
The abuse victim and her father's image and voice have been disguised to protect their anonymity.
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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