Teacher cleared of rape in 26 minutes

Kato Harris' JustGiving page

A jury at Isleworth Crown Court took just 26 minutes to find geography teacher Kato Harris not guilty of three counts of sexual assault on a teenage girl at the private school where he worked.

Harris had been accused of raping the girl in a classroom during the lunch break. His defence team showed that the room would have been open at that time, with the room in full view of staff and students. Moreover, Harris was taking drugs for anxiety which would have caused a loss of libido, making the attack physically impossible.

The case was unusual due to the involvement of former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, who had been retained by the girl’s family as a private investigator. Reports stated that she sought to advise Police officers on how they should be investigating the case, and demanded to see court documents.

Harris spent his life savings on his legal defence, but reportedly still incurred total costs of £195,000. It is not clear yet as to whether Harris can reclaim those costs in any way, but his supporters have set up a JustGiving page for people to donate to his legal costs. If Harris can reclaim the cost of his defence, or if there is any surplus, this will go to charities who deal with the victims of sexual abuse.

If you would like to donate, please visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/helpkato.

F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers) is an organisation which supports carers, teachers and other professionals who have been falsely accused of abuse or other misconduct in a professional setting. You can learn more about their work via their website at http://www.factuk.org/.