FBI seeks victims of teacher who abused dozens of boys
The FBI is asking potential victims of an American paedophile who taught at a private school in London to come forward.
William Vahey, 64, worked at Southbank International School in London from 2009 to 2013 after spells teaching at other schools around the world.
The US citizen was found dead last month in Minnesota and is thought to have killed himself, the FBI said.
Two days earlier, investigators had filed a warrant to search a computer thumb drive belonging to him.
It was found to contain pornographic images of at least 90 boys aged from 12 to 14, who appeared to be drugged and unconscious.
The chairman of governors at Southbank International School, Sir Chris Woodhead, told Channel 4 News police had said 50 to 60 of the images are thought to be of its pupils.
The school has supplied the Met with a list of every pupil who went on the same trips as Vahey, he added.
Vahey, who was jailed for child sex offences in California in 1969, usually taught in international schools, which means his victims could be from all over the world. He had homes in London and in South Carolina.
Due to the nature of the offences, some of the victims might not even know they had been abused while they were unconcscious.
Special Agent Patrick Fransen from the FBI said: “I’ve never seen another case where an individual may have molested this many children over such a long period of time.
“I’m concerned that he may have preyed on many other students prior to 2008.”
Vahey was confronted about the images by a colleague at the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua.
He admitted he had preyed on boys all his life, plying them with sleeping pills before abusing them.
The photos were catalogued with dates and locations that corresponded with overnight field trips that Vahey had taken with students since 2008, but he had led pupils on such outings for his entire career.
Sir Chris, a former Ofsted chief inspector, told Sky News: “There are images which include images of Southbank students that have been found on Vahey’s computer.
“The names of those students are being investigated by the police. We can’t yet say anything beyond that.”
Sir Chris, who found out about the allegations on Tuesday, added: “I have to say to you that when I put the phone down I felt physically sick. This is the worst thing that I’ve ever been involved in in 40 years of education.
“Understandably parents are very concerned, and in particular the parents of children who went on trips organised by this man are wanting as much information as quickly as possible.”
A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) spokesman said: “Officers from the sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse investigation team are assessing and evaluating intelligence passed to the MPS by US authorities, and actively seeking any evidence whilst working with partner agencies to ensure that potential victims are supported.”