A family whose child was subjected to emotional and physical abuse by former headteacher and paedophile Neil Foden is taking legal action against Gwynedd Council.
In May, Foden was convicted of 19 offences involving the abuse of four girls between 2019 and 2023. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Foden was the deputy head of Ysgol Friars School from 1989 before being promoted to headteacher in 1997.
During the trial at Mold Crown Court, it was heard that a teacher raised concerns with the council’s then director of education, Garem Jackson, in 2019 about Foden meeting teenagers alone, but the council did not formally investigate.
Solicitor Katherine Yates said: ‘This case raises a lot of questions.
‘There seems to be a long history of complaints against Foden, so why wasn’t anything done sooner?’
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: ‘We have been appalled by the nature of the crimes committed by Neil Foden and our thoughts continue to be with the victims and their families at this difficult time.’
The local authority said the North Wales Safeguarding Board had begun a review to identify necessary improvements and the lessons that should be learned, adding that it would respond to these immediately.
