Robert Gould was 'predator hiding in plain sight,' say prosecution, as Rushden sex abuse jury gets ready to consider verdicts

Yesterday, (Tuesday, January 21) the prosecution and defence both made their closing speeches following nearly two weeks of evidence.

Former South End Junior School teacher Robert Gould, 74, of Wellingborough Road, Rushden, is standing trial at Northampton Crown Court charged with 30 historic offences against 14 alleged victims.

In her closing speech, prosecuting barrister Claire Howell said that the first boy to tell police what was happening to him, nearly 40 years ago in 1987, was Witness N.

"It wasn’t suggested by the defence that Witness N had changed his account in any significant way in those 40 years,” she said.

"We have since heard evidence from 13 other men about what Robert Gould, they say, did to them when they were boys.

“All of these different people have different personalities, their lives have taken very different paths.

"The prosecution says that each and every one of them was telling the truth.”

Addressing the jury, she asked them to consider that if they had all been lying, why had may of them told friends, family or medical professionals about their experiences years before the police came knocking in 2021.

“That would mean that not only are these people lying to you.. they were also lying to others,” she said.

"I am inviting you to look at five patterns of behaviour the prosecution say show that Robert Gould was a predator hiding in plain sight.”

She told them that he had used the boys sitting on his lap as a method of abuse, as per the evidence of two witnesses who did not know each other but told police about similar experiences.

Ms Howell also outlined how Gould would allegedly use the fact children had wet clothing as a means of abusing them, or how he would say he was ‘checking’ their clothing.

"If the prosecution is right and he is a predatory paedophile, you may think that he’s doing what worked because the child follows along and he gets what he wants.”

She spoke about Witness L, who is dead and struggled with addiction in his later teen years and adult life.

"He struggled with addiction but people who have these types of lives can still tell the truth,” she said.

"One of the things you will have to consider is whether he was trying to cope with what had happened to him.

"Did he take alcohol and drugs to numb the pain?”

She said that it would be an ‘insult to the intelligence of the jury’ if they were led to believe that witnesses had ‘told the same lies as each other’

The jury was also given legal directions by His Honour Judge Herbert KC, who urged them to ‘put emotion aside’.

"Look at the evidence in this case and reach your decisions coolly, calmly and dispassionately,” he said.

They were told about how victims may react in very different ways to abuse, and how the passage of the time may make the memories of witnesses fade.

Gould denies all the allegations against him and says that the witnesses are lying about what allegedly happened to them.

The judge will continue his summing-up today and then the jury is expected to begin deliberations.