Abuse teacher may face more charges

John Walker, left, was jailed for seven years

A teacher who was jailed last month for abusing young children may face new charges, police have revealed.

John Walker was sentenced to 7 years in prison at Reading Crown Court for indecently assaulting 19 children over a 13-year period at a primary school in Oxford.

The chess book author pleaded guilty to 35 counts of indecent assault, while a further 20 similar charges were ordered to lie on file.

Now Thames Valley Police has confirmed further allegations of abuse have been made.

Sex offenders' register

Detectives have taken two statements from complainants, received several anonymous phone calls and one letter alleging abuse.

Detective Sergeant Bob Krykant, of Thames Valley Police's child protection unit, said: "There's no hard and fast rules to say whether we would or wouldn't put papers to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"We would treat the victim as a victim and take a statement from them so we have got a clear understanding of what happened."

Midnight walks

Walker, who is married to a Russian woman, has been disqualified from teaching children and ordered to remain forever on the sex offenders' register.

During his trial, the court heard Walker assaulted his pupils during holiday summer camps.

The jury was also told he took his victims on midnight walks through graveyards, single out his intended victim and then sexually abuse them.

Private sector

He also carried out abuse after chess lessons at his home, or in the changing rooms following swimming lessons.

After allegations of sexual abuse were originally made against Walker he was dismissed from public sector teaching, but continued to work for several years in the private sector.

The CPS has not yet been contacted by the police in connection with the new allegations.

A spokesman said if they receive a new file of evidence they would consider it in the light of Walker's sentence before deciding whether to proceed with a new case against him.