I always thought I was a good teacher

MAN, 62, ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING EIGHT GIRLS

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

A FORMER teacher accused of playing with female students’ hair and touching their shoulders at school denied having any sexual intent.

Anthony Hook, 62, is on trial accused of sexually assaulting eight girls while he was employed at a Greater Manchester school, where he worked for almost two decades.

He has pleaded not guilty to a series of sexual offences, and became visibly emotional as he gave evidence in his defence yesterday. Mr Hook, a married father of two, admitted he sometimes touched pupils’ hair or their shoulders but denied he had a sexual motivation. The school where he worked cannot be named for legal reasons.

“I didn’t come into teaching to upset anybody or to assault anybody,” he told jurors at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. “I came to add something to their lives. I kind of think sometimes, it turns out I was completely wrong, with a bit of physical connection it kind of affirms that I am there to try and help them. That’s all it has ever been.”