John Renel: Former teacher on trial accused of raping pupil at Cundall Manor School

John William Renel, 68, was said to be wearing a tweed jacket when he pinned the girl down and raped and indecently assaulted her in a locker room at Cundall Manor School near Harrogate, prosecutor Rupert Doswell told York Crown Court.

The victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, didn’t report the matter to police until 2021, more than 20 years after the alleged sexual abuse.

She said that before the alleged rape at the fee-paying independent school, she and Renel were “joking about something” in the school kitchen when he picked her up and joked that he was going to “throw her in the bin”.

He then carried her out into the corridor and touched her on the thigh near an intimate part of her body, said Mr Doswell.

“He then took her into a side room – a changing room or locker room – where [pupils] hang their clothing,” added the prosecuting barrister.

“He put her down on the ground on her back. He was on top of her and she remembers him wearing a tweed jacket.”

She said she turned her head “to stare at the wall” as Renel allegedly raped her.

A family member later noticed that the alleged victim, who was very young at the time of the alleged offences, had become withdrawn and in adult life she had developed post-traumatic stress disorder which led to counselling and therapy.

Mr Doswell said that about five months after the alleged victim’s first police interview, she contacted them again about the alleged incident in the school locker room.

She said she could remember that during the alleged rape, she felt as if Renel’s “body [was] crushing her” and that she was struggling to breathe.

According to the alleged victim, Renel “simply walked away” after the alleged incident, “leaving her on the ground”.

“She [told police] she had one further memory of another incident [at the school] when she was older,” said Mr Doswell.

She said that before this alleged incident, Renel again picked her up and dropped her on a bed in a dormitory.

It’s alleged that he then laid down next to the victim, sexually assaulted her and then forced her hand onto an intimate part of his body.

“Her next memory is of the defendant’s face close up to her,” said Mr Doswell.

“She remembers feeling terrified. He was staring at her and scowling. He told her not to tell anyone, before leaving the room.”

Renel, of Main Street, Sessay, near Thirsk, was brought in for questioning in 2021 but denied even knowing the girl.

He told police he had always taught in a tweed jacket but denied raping or sexually assaulting the girl.

In 1997, a few years after Renel left Cundall Manor, he was convicted of three counts of indecently assaulting a girl at another school in Keighley.

The trial continues.