Teacher's abuse 'spanned 20 years'

A former deputy headteacher from Cornwall indecently assaulted 26 young boys at the school where he taught for more than two decades, a court has been told.

Joseph Denley, 78, is alleged to have sexually abused pupils, from eight to 11-years-old, in his classroom at Marazion County Primary School in west Cornwall.

Mr Denley, the school's former deputy head, has pleaded not guilty to 48 charges of indecently assaulting 26 male pupils between 1961 and 1982.

Truro Crown Court was told the pensioner from Alma Road, Penzance, Cornwall, "terrified" his young pupils with his verbal and physical bullying.

'Pillar of society'

Ian Fenny, prosecuting, said Mr Denley abused the boys at their desks, or took them into a "cubby hole" inside his pre-fabricated classroom.

"We say that underneath his veneer of respectability which we say he clings to even today, must be a man with a dark side," said Mr Fenny.

The teacher was said to have targeted mainly weaker students who did not dare speak out against the "apparent pillar of society", said Mr Fenny.

The indecent assaults were allegedly carried out over a 21-year period.

Mr Denley has denied all the allegations, saying he had been well-liked by most of his pupils.

The trial continues.