Former Bellemoor teacher Derek Ide admits sex assault on boy in Trinidad

by: Rory McKeown

A former Hampshire teacher is today facing up to ten years behind bars after a sex attack on a young boy on a tropical Caribbean island, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Well-known yachtie Derek Ide has pleaded guilty to a charge of serious indecency against a nine-year-old boy in Trinidad.

The 66-year-old entered the plea at Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court seven months after his initial arrest.

Under Trinidad law, he could be jailed for up to ten years.

Ide, who used to teach at the former Bellemoor School in Shirley, was charged with grievous sexual assault following an incident at a Power Boats boat yard.

The yard is in the coastal town of Chaguaramas, in the St George West area of the country.

It is alleged the assault took place on board Ide’s yacht.

The boy then informed his parents, who are not native to Trinidad, and Ide was held by the boy’s father before he contacted the police.

Ide, of Netley Cliff, Victoria Road, Netley Abbey, Southampton, who was elected president of the Southampton Schools Association in the late 1970s, pleaded not guilty to the offence during his first court appearance after his arrest on April 28 and was denied bail.

At an ealrier court hearing in May not long after the offence, Ide was seen cupping his hand over his left ear throughout the proceedings and sporting a black eye.

Sean Cazabon, defending Ide, said his client had spent at least half a year in the country for the past eight years, and has strong ties with Trinidad.

This article was written by Rory McKeown and originally published on dailyecho