Elite private school pupils robbed by 'parent' who was paid to supervise boarders
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A house parent paid to supervise boarders at an elite private school stole thousands of pounds worth of belongings from their dorms.
Jack Martin-Harley, 33, used his privileged access at £37,000-a-year d’Overbroeck’s in Oxford to help himself to pupils’ cash, jewellery and electronic goods in a four-month spree.
He has admitted to nine counts of burglary at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court.
Parents were given little information by the school about the case, receiving only a letter saying Martin-Harley was no longer a staff member – with no mention of his crimes.
A school source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Parents at the school are outraged – it’s been very difficult for everyone involved. It’s an obscene amount of money and it’s incredible that this individual saw fit to top up his own salary. I find it hard to get my head around.’
Not all the pupils have had their belongings returned after his crime spree which began last December – and ended this April. He was based at Westway House, home to about 50 sixth-form students, and helped to oversee their academic and personal lives.
Jack Martin-Harley, 33, used his privileged access at £37,000-a-year d’Overbroeck’s in Oxford to help himself to pupils’ cash, jewellery and electronic goods in a four-month spree
As a ‘senior boarding assistant’, Martin-Harley was described as one of a ‘great team of boarding staff’ in the school’s welcome booklet for the academic year.
The website for d’Overbroeck’s, a co-educational school for 11-to-18-year-olds in the upmarket Summertown area of Oxford, says it offers boarding in ‘modern, secure facilities’.
He was due to be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court last week but the hearing was adjourned to November 26 after he appeared without a lawyer.
A spokesman for the school said he’d left with immediate effect adding: ‘The matter was reported to the police and, as legal proceedings remain ongoing, we are unable to comment any further.’
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