Neil Foden, a former headteacher who ’abused trust,’ has been jailed for ’shocking’ sex offences against four girls
Sentencing Foden to 17 years in prison, Judge Rowlands described him as "a man looked up to by many" who had "managed to hide a dreadful secret".
A former headteacher has been jailed for 17 years for sexual offences against four girls.
Neil Foden, of Old Colwyn, was found guilty in May after a three-week trial at Mold Crown Court in North Wales.
The 66-year-old was at the time headteacher at Ysgol Friars school in Bangor, Gwynedd.
He was found guilty of 19 charges in total - including 12 counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child in a position of trust.
He was also convicted of one count each of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, sexual communication with a child, possession of indecent photographs of a child for show and sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
He will serve two-thirds of the sentence in jail, before he is released on licence.
Neil Foden. Pic: North Wales Police
’Dreadful secret’
Sentencing him on Monday, Judge Rowlands said Foden was "a man looked up to by many in the education system" but he had "managed to hide a dreadful secret".
He said Foden "repeatedly took advantage of young girls "repeatedly" in order to satisfy his "depraved, sexual needs".
"You were in a position of trust as regards the children who were in your care," he added.
"It is clear that you have no remorse, you’ve not shown an ounce of contrition for what you did and you have no insight into the undoubted very serious harm that you’ve caused both to the individual victims and their families," he added.
Judge Rowlands said Foden was "a forceful, bullying presence" in his school - a man who "people were afraid of crossing".
He added Foden recognised the vulnerability of his victims. But he added: "Yet you still deliberately targeted them."
Foden became headteacher of Ysgol Friars in 1997 and was later drafted in to "oversee a second school". He also served as a union rep.
He was arrested on 6 September last year at his place of work.