A paedophile head teacher may have abused pupils for more than 40 years, with four times as many victims than previously thought.
Neil Foden was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing four children in north Wales between 2019 and 2023.
But a BBC Wales investigation has heard allegations going back to 1979, and from two women who say police told them there were up to 20 potential victims.
Serious concerns have been raised about a review designed to “learn lessons” from Foden’s case, despite local authority Cyngor Gwynedd vowing a panel overseeing this will be “given all the information it needs”.
One former pupil, Jo – not her real name- said Foden continued to message her until the day he was arrested.
Warning: This article contains details and images that some readers may find disturbing.
She said she was groomed by her head teacher for five years, starting when she would meet with him on a daily basis in his office while a pupil at Ysgol Friars in Gwynedd, north Wales.
Foden would also message her from his personal email account and mobile phone.
“There’s roughly 400, 500 [messages] on his personal email to my personal email account,” she said.
“It was back and forth every day, in school, out of school, morning, night, any time.
“He made me feel like I was special.”
Jo was in the care system, known to be a vulnerable child, and said she was targeted by Foden.
“My mental health was at its lowest, I was self-harming… having panic attacks daily. I didn’t have anyone around me, any support system,” she said.
“He’d give me hugs and I didn’t always want them so I’d pull back, then he’d pull me in stronger… just without reason, his hands would go under my jumper.
“He often checked my arms and my legs to see if I’d self-harmed. I often wore a skirt, so he’d lift the skirt up to have a look.”
Jo said other teachers and staff would see her getting into Foden’s car alone.
She added: “They’d make comments on how lucky I was to have him drive me home, or to drive me to appointments.
“He’d place his hand on my thigh… there was so many things that shouldn’t have happened.”
Jo was made aware of the extent of Foden’s abuse after his arrest at his school in September 2023.
“The police came to me… they said that there were over 20 other people who were in similar situations as myself,” she said.
During Foden’s trial, it emerged that concerns about his closeness to certain teenage girls had been raised in 2019.
The concern was passed to Cyngor Gwynedd, but it was decided there would be no formal investigation as no specific allegations had been made.
My Headteacher the Paedophile – BBC Wales Investigates
Watch the full programme on BBC iPlayer.
‘Going on for decades’
Nia, not her real name, was one of the first pupils Foden taught at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen in 1979. She said Foden would target her when they were both alone in his classroom.
“He’d come to the desk, stand behind me… usually his right arm would be rubbing up against my breast and I felt I couldn’t move,” she said.
“As a 13-year-old, I didn’t realise exactly what was going on. I was petrified of him, I was vulnerable at that age and naïve, and he knew it.”
Nia didn’t report Foden at the time because she didn’t think anyone would believe her, but did speak to police after his arrest in 2023.
“This abuse has been going on for decades… you don’t suddenly wake up in 2019 and decide to become a paedophile,” she said.
Nia said what happened to her has had a lasting impact.
“The older I’ve got, the more I recognise what’s going on for me in relationships, with partners. I can never trust anybody… that’s a lifelong thing.”
The local authority, Cyngor Gwynedd, said an independent review would “identify what lessons are to be learned” to prevent similar cases in the future.
But Jo and Nia say they have not been contacted by anyone involved in the review.
“They definitely need to do something stronger, hold everyone who was accountable,” Jo told the BBC Wales Investigates programme. “It’s not just enough to say they need to do better, they need to be forced to do better.”
A child practice review board said it is “fully aware there may be many other victims or survivors” and it would like to hear from them.
Katherine Yates, a solicitor representing a dozen people who say they have suffered because of Foden, is taking legal action against Cyngor Gwynedd on their behalf.
“There is a mixture of serious sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse,” she said.
“The first client is now in her 50s, my youngest is 14… the council are vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.
“His actions have impacted on so many lives, that of children, their families, staff… I think he could and should have been stopped a lot sooner.”
While Foden was abusing girls in 2019, Cyngor Gwynedd’s attention was focused on bullying allegations made against him by staff.
BBC Wales Investigates has seen a copy of a confidential report which raised concerns about his behaviour, warning that action should be taken.
Foden was then reprimanded by the teaching regulator and kicked out of his union in 2020.
Yet, a year later, in 2021, he was given more responsibility as a “strategic super-head” overseeing two different schools in north Wales.
One staff member, Rose, not her real name, said she approached Foden in his office in December 2022 about a personal issue.
“I had explained the situation to him… and then he asked a very off kilter question about sex, which kind of threw me a little bit,” she said.
“Your employer wouldn’t normally ask you about sex. It’s not a normal thing, is it?”
She said he then gave her a hug, which “moved into sexual assault”.
“Basically…. he just put his hand down my pants,” she said.
Rose said she didn’t report Foden at the time, although she did speak to police after his arrest, which led to him being charged, but the case did not make it to trial.
Cyngor Gwynedd has repeatedly been asked for an interview by BBC Wales, but has declined.
In a statement, it said it will “leave no stone unturned” to ensure the child practice review is provided with “all relevant information held by the council regarding all concerns raised”.
“It would not be appropriate for Cyngor Gwynedd to comment on this specific matter until the panel has concluded its work,” a spokesperson added.
* Names have been changed to protect the identities of the women involved