Ex-teacher’s ‘shock’ at abuse claims

Peter Merrick, 66, was initially questioned by police in 1993 after two ex-pupils at the William Henry Smith School, near Brighouse, made complaints.

He was interviewed again in 2009 following a further investigation and later charged with a series of offences dating back about three decades.

Barrister Eleanor Laws QC asked her client to cast his mind back to 1993 and say how he felt at the time. “First of all total shock that anybody could suggest such a thing,” said Merrick. “And then I suppose I became quite angry. Why pick on me?”

An at times tearful Merrick told Bradford Crown Court that his years at the William Henry Smith School had been a formative period for him and his family and very positive. “It’s as if that’s been shattered completely,” he added.

Merrick, of Overseal, Derbyshire, has denied a series of charges of indecently assaulting male persons under 16 and two allegations of buggery.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Matthew Bean asked Merrick if he felt he had been wronged and that he was the victim. “I believe I am,” replied Merrick.

The trial continues.