32 charges | 

School health and welfare officer denies raping teenage girl

Beckett was also separately charged with a total of 27 sexual offences against 11 separate complainants, all of whom were teenage girls

Today at 17:32

A school health and welfare officer has appeared in court where he denied raping a teenage girl.

Neil Clarke Beckett, who is currently suspended from his post at Lagan College, was charged with – and denied – a total of five offences.

The 43-year old, from Kilmore Village in Downpatrick, was charged with raping a child on a date between December 15, 2013 and December 15, 2015.

When the charge was put to the accused at Belfast Crown Court, he replied “not guilty”.

A further four charges involving the same complainant were then put to the former Army Cadet leader.

He was charged with one offence of sexual grooming and four counts of sexual assault on dates between December 15, 2013 and December 15, 2015 – and entered ‘not guilty’ pleas to all of them.

Beckett was also separately charged with a total of 27 sexual offences against 11 separate complainants, all of whom were teenage girls.

He denied a total of 25 charges of sexual assault and a further two charges of sexual communication with a child.

All of these offences span a period from September 2018 to February 2023 and involve alleged abuse against both pupils at Lagan College and Army Cadet students.

After all 32 charges were put to Beckett, Judge Donna McColgan KC confirmed that his trial will commence on September 9.