Former Headteacher Jailed for Child Sex Offences

Robin Mellor, 74, of North Street in Braunton, Devon, has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing two children during the 1970s and 1980s.

Mellor, a former headteacher who worked at several primary schools in Kent, committed his offenses during private tutoring sessions at his home in Ditton. He targeted an 11-year-old girl over a year-and-a-half period, showing her pornographic images and forcing her to mimic the content.

He then assaulted a second girl during another tutoring session, attempting to engage her in sexual activity and committing an indecent act in her presence.

Mellor was arrested in January 2022 and charged with five counts of indecent assault on a child and one count of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency. He was also charged with making indecent images of a child after 20 illegal images were discovered on his computer.

Despite pleading not guilty, Mellor was convicted of all charges on March 7th, 2023 at Maidstone Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Rob Grieve stated, "Robin Mellor grossly abused his position of trust as a teacher and tutor, in order to sexually abuse children. Today's sentence will not take away the emotional and physical trauma his victims were made to endure as children, but it will hopefully bring some closure."

Grieve added, "Mellor was a teacher at several primary schools in west Kent, in areas which included Ditton and Larkfield and we can't discount the possibility he may have committed further offences which may not yet have been reported. I would like to thank the two victims in this case for their bravery in coming forward and bringing Mellor to justice."

He encouraged any other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and contact the police, assuring them that they would be treated with dignity and sensitivity.