A former teacher at Eton College has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault on a pupil he used to teach.
Jacob Leland, 37, taught Russian in the school’s Modern Languages department between September 2010 and August 2012, during which time he performed oral sex on a boy, kissed him, and put his hand on his groin.
On Tuesday, Leland was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault on a pupil. He was found not guilty of 11 other historic offences.
Described as a “young, vibrant, energetic, charismatic”, Reading Crown Court heard how Leland abused his relationship with pupils and members of staff.
Simon Henderson, the current headmaster of Eton College, issued “unreserved apologies” to those impacted, describing Leland’s behaviour as an “egregious breach of trust” and admitted that testimony from the trial “raises a number of very significant concerns about what happened”.
He said in the email sent to all past students of the college that Eton would conduct an external review.
He said: "As Head Master, I am appalled that this abuse happened at Eton.
"Mr Leland’s criminal conduct represents the most egregious breach of trust and, although he has also been acquitted on a number of counts, the associated testimony from the court case raises a number of very significant concerns about what happened.”
He added: "Eton needs to acknowledge not only that something this serious was able to take place at our school, but also that it took several years for the details of what happened to come to light. Those who were directly impacted by Mr Leland’s actions had the right to be safe and secure in our care.
"It is devastating for them and for us that they were not and I have offered them my unreserved apologies on behalf of the school. It is their courage that has ensured that Mr Leland’s conduct has been brought to light and we will continue to stand beside them and to do all we can to support them moving forward."
Leland had performed oral sex on the unnamed student during a school trip, and on the boy's birthday, the court heard he had kissed him and put his hand over his groin.
He is the fourth former Eton teacher to have been implicated in serious misconduct since 2010.
Leland was an assistant to the housemaster at Common Lane House, one of the 25 boarding houses at Eton, as well as a teacher of Russian.
One of his duties in this role would involve helping put the boys to bed on a Monday night.
At 8pm, he would take the register, and later in the evening he was responsible for “lights out”.
One ex-pupil told the court how Leland would wrestle with the boys in their bedrooms, putting his “whole body weight” on them.
He told The Telegraph: "He would wrestle us on our beds. You’d be sitting in your room, he’d come in, talk to you and then say, 'OK, let’s wrestle'.”
It has been reported that no other teacher behaved in a similar way with pupils, but because of Leland’s age, he was regarded more as an “older brother”.
“I was regularly confused for a boy by other members of staff,” Leland admitted to the court himself.
Leland will be sentenced on December 11.
