Chronicle Editor
A paedophile head teacher may have abused pupils for more than 40 years, with four times as many victims than previously thought.
Neil Foden was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing four children in north Wales between 2019 and 2023.
But a BBC Wales investigation has heard allegations going back to 1979, and from two women who say police told them there were up to 20 potential victims.
Serious concerns have been raised about a review designed to “learn lessons” from Foden’s case, despite local council Cyngor Gwynedd vowing a panel overseeing this will be “given all the information it needs”.
One former pupil, Jo – not her real name – said Foden continued to message her until the day he was arrested.
She said she was groomed by her head teacher for five years, starting when she would meet him on a daily basis in his office while a pupil at Ysgol Friars in Bangor.
Foden would also message her from his personal email account and mobile phone.
“There’s roughly 400, 500 [messages] on his personal email to my personal email account,” she said.
“It was back and forth every day, in school, out of school, morning, night, any time.
“He made me feel like I was special.”
Jo was in the care system, known to be a vulnerable child, and said she was targeted by Foden.
“My mental health was at its lowest, I was self-harming… having panic attacks daily. I didn’t have anyone around me, any support system,” she said.
“He’d give me hugs and I didn’t always want them so I’d pull back, then he’d pull me in stronger… just without reason, his hands would go under my jumper.
“He often checked my arms and my legs to see if I’d self-harmed. I often wore a skirt, so he’d lift the skirt up to have a look.”
Jo said other teachers and staff would see her getting into Foden’s car alone.
She added: “They’d make comments on how lucky I was to have him drive me home, or to drive me to appointments.
“He’d place his hand on my thigh… there was so many things that shouldn’t have happened.”
Jo was made aware of the extent of Foden’s abuse after his arrest at his school in September 2023.
“The police came to me… they said that there were over 20 other people who were in similar situations as myself,” she said.
During Foden’s trial, it emerged that concerns about his closeness to certain teenage girls had been raised in 2019.
The concern was passed to Cyngor Gwynedd, but it was decided there would be no formal investigation as no specific allegations had been made.
‘Going on for decades’
Nia, not her real name, was one of the first pupils Foden taught at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, Bethesda, in 1979. She said Foden would target her when they were both alone in his classroom.
“He’d come to the desk, stand behind me… usually his right arm would be rubbing up against my breast and I felt I couldn’t move,” she said.
“As a 13-year-old, I didn’t realise exactly what was going on. I was petrified of him, I was vulnerable at that age and naïve, and he knew it.”
Nia did not report Foden at the time because she did not think anyone would believe her, but did speak to police after his arrest in 2023.
“This abuse has been going on for decades… you don’t suddenly wake up in 2019 and decide to become a paedophile,” she said.
Nia said what happened to her has had a lasting impact.
“The older I’ve got, the more I recognise what’s going on for me in relationships, with partners. I can never trust anybody… that’s a lifelong thing.”
Online Reporter