A former assistant headteacher who appeared in Channel 4 documentary series Educating Cardiff has admitted sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl after changing his plea during his trial. Gareth Ritter, 44, pleaded guilty to sexual assault three days into proceedings at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. Ritter had previously denied kissing or touching the teenager without her consent and had continued to dispute the allegation while giving evidence. His change of plea came during the trial, after which the jury was directed to return a guilty verdict.
Teenager taken to Cardiff Bay flat
The court heard the sexual assault happened after Ritter offered the 17-year-old a lift home following an event. During the journey, he stopped at a flat he owned in Cardiff Bay, telling the teenager he needed to check the property for “five minutes”. The teenager told the court that Ritter showed her the view from a balcony before making comments about her appearance. She said he also spoke about keeping the flat secret from his wife. The complainant told jurors that Ritter then touched her without her consent and asked whether she wanted to see the bedroom. She did not follow him into the room.
The teenager said she felt ‘trapped’
The court heard that Ritter later kissed the teenager and put his tongue into her mouth without her consent. Giving evidence, she described feeling uncomfortable and trapped and said she struggled to react to what was happening. She told the jury she felt unable to move away and did not know how to stop the encounter. Ritter initially denied sexually assaulting her before changing his plea to guilty during the trial.
Separate offences involving indecent images
The jury was also told Ritter had already admitted separate offences relating to indecent images of the complainant discovered on his mobile phone. The court heard the images had originally been taken in 2015 with the consent of the teenager and her partner but were subsequently shared without their permission. The complainant said she decided to report the Cardiff Bay sexual assault after learning that the images had been discovered on Ritter’s device. Ritter has been granted bail ahead of sentencing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on November 4.
Originally published by UKNIP.
