I handed this letter directly to parents at the end of Michaelmas Term 2022

I was first raped by Sterling Stover at the age of 13 in May 1994, in a French chateau, and subsequently at the old Bruern Abbey School.

From around 2006 I have taken whatever steps I can to make the school leadership and parents aware that a predator has been living among generations of Bruern boys. The school - principally John Floyd - has consistently refused to meet me to discuss the abuse and what steps Bruern is taking to ensure safeguarding. Moreover, I have been repeatedly lied to and told that Stover “no longer plays an active part in the life of the school”.

In December 2018 I discovered this to be untrue when I attended the school carol service and saw Stover sitting next to Floyd in the front pew. You can read my account here: http://robjessel.co.uk/bruernabbey

I reported my rapes to Thames Valley Police - twice, in 2006 and 2020 - but aside from interviewing Stover under caution, no further action has been taken, since it is my word against his. 

I also gave testimony to the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). You can listen to my recorded submission here: https://on.soundcloud.com/jiyYP 

It is overwhelmingly likely that my abuse either caused or at least contributed to a range of difficulties with which I have struggled, daily, for years. These include self-injury, suicide ideation, feelings of utter worthlessness, severe depression and anxiety, substance abuse, alcoholism, and high-risk sexual encounters.

It is the fate of those who suffer sexual abuse never to be believed by those who have the power to stop it. I am giving you this letter, along with the links, so that you can make up your own mind, and perhaps put pressure on Bruern and Floyd to take safeguarding seriously - and to prevent what happened to me, and perhaps to others, from happening to your son.