A TEACHER sexually abused a boy on a school trip and wrestled with pupils in their bedrooms.
Jacob Leland, 37, has been convicted of sexually abusing a former pupil at the prestigious £63,000 a year in .
A teacher sexually abused a boy on a school trip and wrestled with pupils in their bedroomsCredit: Alamy
Jacob Leland, 37, taught at the prestigious Eton College and was found guilty of three counts of sexual assaultCredit: Alamy
The school’s alumni include the likes of actor , George Orwell and former Prime Minister .
Leland taught Russian in the Modern Languages department between 2010 and 2012 and was described at court as “young, vibrant, energetic, charismatic”.
But he was also an assistant to the housemaster at one of Eton’s 25 boarding houses, Common Lane House.
In this role, Leland was responsible for putting the boys to bed on a Monday night, taking the 8pm register and imposing “lights out”.
On Tuesday, he was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault on one of his former students – he was acquitted of 11 other historic offences.
It was revealed to Crown Court that Leland had performed oral sex on the unnamed boy.
The shocking crime took place on a trip while Leland also kissed the boy and placed his hand over his groin on his birthday.
The trial saw former students, teachers and Leland himself take to the stand where the court heard of Leland’s abuse.
One former pupil told The Telegraph that he’d come into their room and say “Ok, let’s wrestle”.
“He would grapple with you, and you had to fight really hard, he’d put his whole body weight on you,” they said.
The heard how Leland, in his early 20s, was often seen more an “older brother” rather than a teacher which allowed him to test physical boundaries with pupils.
It was also revealed he would engage in inappropriate conversations with the 15-year-old boys as well as show them explicit photos and videos.
One student who was taught by Leland described himself as a “vulnerable human being” and spoke of when he visited his teacher’s flat on his birthday with his friends.
The student told the court that Leland wanted to give him a “birthday present” and sent the others outside.
“He came back into the room, he came over to me, kissed me, and then sort of grabbed my arm and guided my hand to his crotch,” the student said.
He added that, three weeks later, Leland performed oral sex on him when Leland invited him and another boy to his hotel room during a school trip.
He recalled how he struggled to come to terms with the abuse afterwards.
Simon Henderson, the current headmaster of Eton College issued “unreserved apologies” to those impacted by Leland’s actions and referred to his behaviour as an “egregious breach of trust”.
“I am appalled that this abuse happened at Eton… Eton needs to acknowledge not only that something this serious was able to take place at our school, but also that it took several years for the details of what happened to come to light,” he said following the verdicts.
Henderson added that “we will continue to stand beside them” and support those affected.
Leland will be sentenced on December 11.
