rj dent – legacy
Part 1: Case Study
Michael Burton was the headmaster of a private boarding school in a small village in Buckinghamshire. The school, Osprey Manor School, was a mixed secondary and sixth form school. There were one hundred and thirty-four students attending the school, seventy two of which were boys.
Michael Burton was married to a woman named Sylvia. They had no children. He had a number of important community roles: he was a magistrate; he was the chairman of the local council, a position he had held for twenty two years; he was on the board of directors of several local businesses, two of which made significant annual donations to the Osprey Manor School, and he was one of the governors of the school he was headmaster of. He was also good friends with the local police superintendent, and he had one of the local law companies on retainer, to handle any of the school’s legal requirements.
Although he was married, Michael Burton was a homosexual. He was also a paedophile. He used his position as headmaster of Osprey Manor School to his advantage. At the beginning of the academic year, he would promote one of the boys to the position of head boy. Every morning before breakfast, Michael Burton and the head boy met in the headmaster’s study for a one hour ‘debriefing’, during which the study door was always locked. Michael Burton said the head boy needed to be in his study promptly at quarter to seven in the morning, ready to discuss important issues. If the boy proved to be very adept at discussing a range of topics, he would maintain his status as head boy; if Burton found him to be ‘disappointing’, he was demoted and a new head boy was chosen.
One year, one particular boy, Graham Deacon, who had been head boy the previous academic year, was made head boy for the second year running. This was unprecedented. Usually, a boy lasted for a term, perhaps two terms. No one other than Graham Deacon had remained head boy for a whole year. Michael Burton got bored discussing the same topics for too long, and so he liked to change his head boys in order to give him fresh topics to discuss.
Michael Burton’s homosexual paedophilia was an open secret. Most of the students knew what being ‘head boy’ entailed. Many were careful to avoid being promoted to that position; others vied for it. Although Michael Burton’s predilections were known or suspected by many, no one ever reported him to the police. The main reason for this was that there was no evidence. Also, due to his various positions locally, Burton was almost untouchable; it as though he had a force field of power and influence surrounding him, which was actually the case.
By the time he was replaced as head boy, Graham Deacon had become someone of note within the school. When he reached school leaving age, he went to university and studied to be a teacher. After three years, he was a qualified maths teacher. He went back to the school, had a meeting with Michael Burton and was employed with immediate effect as a teacher of mathematics at Osprey Manor school. Within a year he was the head of the mathematics department. Within four years, he was deputy headmaster of the school and had his own study at the opposite end of the school to Michael Burton’s study.
Michael Burton finally (and reluctantly) retired and he made sure that Graham Deacon was chosen by the board of governors to be the new school’s headmaster. The transition went smoothly. Graham Deacon moved into Michael Burton’s study and continued the debriefing tradition. Graham Deacon was heterosexual, so he chose the head girl for each term. Following tradition, the head girl attended one hour debriefings every morning. However, Graham Deacon introduced an innovation: he created the role of deputy head girl. Most mornings, the head girl and the deputy head girl attended the debriefings together.
Despite having been chosen as Michael Burton’s successor, Graham Deacon did not have Burton’s positions of power; nor did he have Burton’s ability to camouflage his activities. Graham Deacon was not married, he was not on the council in any capacity, he was not a magistrate and had not made any effort to be friends with the police superintendent. Inevitably, it was not long before rumours and gossip started to circulate about the headmaster and his penchant for inviting young girls to his study in the early hours of the morning.
Complaints were made, statements were taken, evidence was collected. The police moved slowly but inexorably. One morning, four years after he had been made headmaster, the police arrived at Osprey Manor School and arrested Graham Deacon. He was charged with assaulting and raping several girls and women. He denied all charges. He was informed of a date he was to appear in court and released on bail. Michael Burton put up the ten thousand pounds bail money.
The two men met at Michael Burton’s house and Burton offered to provide Deacon with a good solicitor and to pay all legal costs. Deacon accepted. Burton advised Deacon to deny everything and to plead not guilty to every charge. Deacon agreed. Burton advised Deacon that he might still be found guilty and be sentenced to a term in prison. If that happened, Burton said he would make sure Deacon was sent to an open prison and would do all he could to have Deacon given the shortest custodial sentence possible. And after prison, he would provide Deacon with somewhere to live. He intimated that one of his friends would employ Deacon in some sort of token clerical capacity.
Graham Deacon was obviously unable to go back to Osprey Manor School in any capacity. Some parents had withdrawn their children from the school. Reporters were outside the school, attempting to interview everyone who went in or out of the grounds. The media spotlight was shining brightly on the school, so Michael Burton, who still had a controlling interest in the business, closed the school and refunded the fees of the handful of parents who complained the loudest.
As he waited for the day of his trial, Graham Deacon relocated to a small town in Kent and started work as a travelling salesman. He was quite successful and was able to make a reasonable living. The date of the court case approached.
Part 2: Newspaper Reports
Inquest opens into death of former head teacher Graham Deacon on A20 near Ashford, Kent.
By Donald Lyndon
Published: 08:00, 10 May 2021 | Updated: 08:18, 10 May 2021
A former head teacher facing rape and sex abuse charges suffocated when he was crushed after his car crashed into the back of a lorry.
Graham Deacon, 54, died after his Vauxhall Astra smashed into the HGV parked in a lay-by on the A20 near his hometown of Ashford on Saturday, May 8th.
The ex-boarding school head died just days before he was due to stand trial at Aylesbury Crown Court for rape and a string of historic sex offences.
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Inquest: Ex-head teacher Graham Deacon smashed into HGV days before going on trial for sex offences
By Jerome Deller
Published: 09:30, 10 May 2021
A former head teacher drove his car into the back of lorry at high speed two days before he was due to face rape and sex abuse allegations.
Graham Deacon, 54, died when his black Vauxhall Astra smashed into the HGV parked in a lay-by on the A20 near his hometown of Ashford on Saturday, May 8th.
Today an inquest at Archdeacon’s Palace in Maidstone heard there is no evidence the former boarding school head turned salesman intended to take his own life.
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Former Buckinghamshire school head dies in car crash ahead of historic sex offences trial.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th May 2021, 16:54 BST- 2 min read
Updated 11th May 2021, 11:32 BST
The trial of a former Buckinghamshire boarding school head teacher charged with historic sex offences against over 16s and children, is to be vacated after the defendant died in a car crash.
Graham Deacon was due to appear at Aylesbury Crown Court tomorrow to face a trial. However the court heard that he had died on Saturday.
Graham Deacon, who was the head teacher of Osprey Manor (boarding) School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, was due to appear at Aylesbury Crown Court tomorrow for the first day of his trial.
He was to face a charge of rape against a woman over 16 dating back to 1988, three counts of indecent assaults on girls and two on women aged over 16, dating between 1995 and 1998.
But the court heard how the trial would have to be vacated, after Deacon had been involved in a serious car crash near his home in Ashford, Kent.
Prosecuting Rosemary Vickers, told the court: “It was due to be listed for trial today, but it is unable to take place as the defendant is now deceased.
“I have made enquiries with the officer in the case and it seems at the moment, a quite clear indication that the defendant was involved in a road traffic collision at the weekend.”
Deacon was due to be formally identified by a family member yesterday afternoon.
Barrister, Julie Dore, who had been due to represent him during the trial, said that, on Saturday, at around 7pm, Deacon had run into the back of a stationary lorry “at considerable speed”.
A friend of the two of the three alleged victims, who attended the Buckinghamshire boarding school in the 1990s, said they were disappointed the case would not be heard by a judge and jury and added that it had been “really hard for them”.
Deacon was himself a pupil at the school before working his way through the ranks to become head teacher. The friend of the alleged victims told this reporter that she remembered Deacon when he was head boy.
Osprey Manor School closed in 1999.
Deacon's trial (now officially vacated) was due to be heard at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday 12th May.
A Buckinghamshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that a man in his 50s had died after his car hit a parked lorry in Kent at 7pm on Saturday, May 8th.
She said: “He was driving a black Vauxhall Astra on the A20 when it hit the lorry, which was legally parked in a lay-by.”
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Former headteacher facing child sex charges dies after crashing into parked lorry days before start of trial.
By Adian Johnstone
08:23, 13th May 2021
Inquest: Ex-head teacher Graham Deacon smashed into HGV days before going on trial for sex offences.
A former head teacher drove his car into the back of lorry at high speed four days before he was due to face rape and sex abuse allegations.
Graham Deacon, 54, died when his black Vauxhall Astra smashed into the HGV parked in a lay-by on the A20 near his hometown of Ashford on Saturday, May 8th.
Today an inquest at Archdeacon’s Palace in Maidstone heard there is no evidence the former boarding school head turned salesman intended to take his own life.
PC Robin Young, who examined the scene of the crash, said Mr Deacon’s car was heading along the A20 towards Maidstone when it left the carriageway. It struck a curb, causing the offside front tyre to deflate, before continuing over a traffic island and into the back of the lorry.
There was no evidence Mr Deacon applied the brakes before impact and fatigue, weather conditions and distraction at the wheel weren’t felt to be a factor.
The driver of the Romanian HGV had stopped legally in the side road for a rest break, leaving enough room for large vehicles to pass.
Shortly before 7pm he felt and heard the impact of something heavy hitting the rear of his stationary vehicle and got out to find Mr Deacon’s car partially underneath the back of the trailer, and used a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire before phoning police.
Mr Deacon suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.
Mr Deacon was a former pupil, then the headmaster of Osprey Manor School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, before it closed in 1999.
On Wednesday, May 12th, he was to face a charge of rape against a woman over 16 dating back to 1988, three counts of indecent assaults on girls and two on women aged over 16, dating between 1995 and 1998.
The hearing was told the Marine Drive resident intended to plead not guilty to the offences and felt positive about the upcoming court case. He had packed his bags and was preparing for a week-long stay in Buckinghamshire where he would be joined by family.
Martin Robertson, detective constable, said his investigation found while the prospect of court case could not be ignored, there was nothing to indicate Mr Deacon had mental health problems or intended to kill himself. He was captured on security footage at Hythe Road Services behaving normally.
Recording a narrative conclusion, Katherine Hooper, assistant coroner, said there wasn’t enough evidence to conclude suicide, misadventure or accidental death.
She said: “On Saturday, May 8th, Mr Graham Deacon died as a result of crush asphyxia when the vehicle he was driving on the A20 impacted with the rear of a stationary lorry parked in a layby.”
William Deacon, Graham’s brother, said his brother was a caring man who went out of his way to help others.
He said: “I want to thank the police and coroner’s office for the sensitive way they have handled my brother’s death during what is a very difficult time.”
Part 3: Legacy
William Deacon watched the woman come out of the shop.
She put a packaged item in her shopping bag and started walking along the pavement towards the town centre.
He crossed the road and began walking along beside her.
“Hello, Mrs Burton,” he said pleasantly.
Sylvia Burton stopped walking and looked at him quizzically.
“Do I know you?” she asked.
“Sort of,” Deacon said. “I’m Graham Deacon’s bother.”
A look of sympathy mixed with distress settled on Sylvia Burton’s face.
“Oh, then I’m terribly sorry for your loss. I knew your brother. He was a very nice young man.”
Deacon nodded.
“Yes, I know. When he came home during the holidays, he’d mention the school, his peers and the staff.”
“But you didn’t come to the school yourself.”
Deacon shook his head.
“No. I told my parents I didn’t want to be a boarder, so they sent me to a local comprehensive.”
Sylvia Burton nodded.
“A pity. You’d have fitted in at Osprey Manor. And you’d have been company for Graham.”
“I do have one question regarding my brother, if you don’t mind,” Deacon said.
“I’m not sure I can help you,” Sylvia Burton said quickly. “I didn’t know him as well as his fellow pupils, or as well as some of the teachers did. Wouldn’t it be better to ask them?”
“I don’t think so,” Deacon said. “Not for this question.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll do my best,” Sylvia Burton said.
“Did you know that your husband was systematically sexually abusing my brother for several years, or did he hide it from you too? Did you ignore it out of fear of the consequences, or did you genuinely not know?”
There was a long silence, during which Deacon scrutinised Sylvia Burton intently.
“That is an absolutely disgusting thing to ask,” Sylvia Burton said finally. “You’d better go now.”
“I just want an answer,” Deacon said.
“Leave me alone. Go on, go away. And stay away from me.”
“All right, I’m going. And I won’t bother you again. I can see that you knew. It’s obvious.”
Sylvia Burton reached into her bag and pulled out a phone.
“If you don’t walk away right now, I’m going to call the police and have you arrested!”
William Deacon looked at her for several seconds, then nodded.
“You helped kill my brother and now you’ll have me arrested,” Deacon said quietly. “What did my family ever do to you?”
“I mean it,” Sylvia Burton said, brandishing the phone.
Deacon knew he had only a few seconds before she called someone. He doubted she’d call the police – her history revealed her as someone who preferred to have no attention focused on her – but he was sure she would have someone at the end of her phone, and whoever it was, it would be better for him if they were not told his name.
“My brother’s dead because of the abuse that your husband inflicted on him,” he said. “You should have protected the child, but instead you chose to protect the monster. That’s your legacy, Mrs Sylvia Burton. Your actions have resulted in an abused child killing himself.”
Sylvia Burton was holding her phone in such a way that it looked as though she was attempting to ward Deacon off with it.
Deacon turned and took a step away from her. Then he stopped and took another look at her – an old lady with a shopping bag walking through a small town in the heart of England.
“I never knew what true evil looked like,” he called. “Now I do.”
And he walked away.
R J DENT is a poet, novelist, translator, essayist, and short story writer. As a renowned translator of European literature, he has published modern English translations of The Songs of Maldoror (Le Comte de Lautréamont); Speculations (Alfred Jarry); Capital of Pain (Paul Ėluard); Her Three Daughters (Pierre Louӱs); Soluble Fish (André Breton); Stories, Tales and Fables (Marquis de Sade); Poems & Fragments (Alcaeus); Selected Erotic Poems (Charles Baudelaire); and major works by Louis Aragon, Maurice Rollinat and Tarjei Vesaas.
As a poet and novelist, R J Dent is the author of a poetry collection, Moonstone Silhouettes; a novel, Myth; and a short collection, Gothiques and Fantastiques.
R J Dent’s official website is www.rjdent.com
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