Former teacher re-appeals sexual abuse conviction

Mark Standish, also known as Alex Standish, was sentenced to four years in prison in March, after a jury at Reading Crown Court found him guilty of four counts of indecently assaulting a pupil while he was a teacher at Crookham Court School in Thatcham between 1988 and 1989.
His first appeal was thrown out by the Court of Appeal last month, but Standish has decided to re-appeal that decision.
The case will now be heard in front of a panel of judges, but a date for the hearing is yet to be decided because the court is closed until October 2.
Crookham Court School closed in the late 1980s after being exposed by the Newbury Weekly News and BBC TV series That’s Life, which led to three members of the school’s staff being convicted for sexual abuse.
After a trial at Reading Crown Court in 1990, the owner of the school, Philip Cadman, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
French teacher William Printer was convicted of two indecent assaults and one attempted serious sexual assault, and was imprisoned for 10 years at the same trial.
English teacher Anthony Edmonds was jailed for six years after admitting four charges of serious sexual assault and seven charges of indecent assault.
Cadman’s and Printer’s sentences were both reduced to six years on appeal.
Standish was living in Station Street, Waterhouses, Durham, at the time of his conviction.