A FORMER teacher from North Yorkshire accused of a string of sexual assaults at a prestigious school is unconscious in hospital following a suicide attempt.
Stephen Douglas-Hogg, from Filey, is in intensive care at a London hospital after taking an overdose of paracetamol tablets just hours before he was due to go on trial.
The 49-year-old was to appear at London's Southwark Crown Court on Monday, whe
re he is accused of 17 charges of indecently assaulting five boys aged under 14.
The offences are alleged to have taken place during the 1980s at St Paul's Cathedral Choir School in London.
Judge Michael Gledhill QC issued a warrant for the former teacher when he failed to appear yesterday, but withdrew it today as the severity of Mr Douglas-Hogg's condition was revealed.
Nicholas Barker, defending, explained: "The defendant remains in hospital. He's still unconscious in an intensive care unit.
"There's no prognosis at the moment. The staff at the hospital are continuing to filter his blood. In their words, it's early days as to what might happen."
Mr Douglas-Hogg was found by police lying unconscious on the floor of his London hotel room.
Judge Gledhill placed him on bail, saying: "The defendant is in intensive care and there's no possibility in the immediate future that he's going to walk out of hospital or be discharged."
The judge refused to hold the trial in Mr Douglas-Hogg's absence and the hearing was adjourned for mention at the same court on October 16.
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