Pupil who says she was groomed by paedophile head in fight for compensation

Pupil who says she was groomed by paedophile head in fight for compensation

ByElen Wyn

Newyddion S4C

A former pupil says she suffers nightmares and flashbacks after claiming she was groomed by former headteacher Neil Foden.

Meg, not her real name, said the convicted paedophile groomed her in 2023 when she was 14 and a pupil at Ysgol Friars in Bangor, Gwynedd.

He did not physically or sexually assault her, she said, but the impact of his behaviour continues to affect her.

She said she now has to prove the effect his alleged grooming has had on her after insurers acting on behalf of Cyngor Gwynedd invited her to withdraw a compensation claim to help cover the cost of therapy.

The council said all compensation cases relating to Foden remained under consideration.

The letter from Cyngor Gwynedd's insurers, seen by Newyddion S4C, external, said there was no suggestion that Foden touched her and states "no legal liability" in relation to her proposed claim.

Foden was jailed for 17 years in 2024 for a series of sexual offences against young girls.

Meg, now 17, believes she is the "new girl" referred to in an independent Child Practice Review, a report examining safeguarding failures linked to Neil Foden's offending, published in November 2025.

She said she was groomed by Foden during a series of unofficial one-to-one "therapy sessions" in his office.

Timeline of Foden's offending

In 2023, Meg was struggling at school, and, after discussing her difficulties with her parents, Foden offered to provide one-to-one support.

When she learned about the arrangement, Meg said she was shocked.

She said: "I felt I was in a position where I couldn't say no."

Meg said Foden told her not to tell her parents about the meetings, while also asking her parents not to discuss the arrangement with her.

She believes this prevented them as a family from openly talking about what was happening.

She attended 17 "support" sessions on her own with Foden, and said she started opening up to him because she felt like she could "trust him".

"I remember him asking me if I was scared of him, and I answered 'yes'. I think that confirmed to him that he had authority and power over me," she said.

She said that she felt "special" at the time and she "wanted someone to be there all the time".

"I think he saw that and took advantage of it," she said.

"After a while, I noticed him looking me up and down.

"Grooming is not just touching, it controls your mind. He was controlling my mind. He was playing a game."

Concerns not reported

Meg's sessions with Foden continued around the same time concerns about his behaviour were being discussed by senior school staff, according to the Child Practice Review.

The report, published in November 2025, identified over 50 missed opportunities to stop the headteacher, with Meg's experience among the cases looked at by the review.

While many of the failings identified by reviewers related to Cyngor Gwynedd and other agencies, the report also raised concerns about the actions of Ysgol Friars' leadership team.

It notes that between March and July 2023 members of the school's senior management team, including the designated safeguarding lead, exchanged messages expressing concern about Foden's behaviour.

One message said he spent "half his time in school now holding hands with little girls" before describing his habit of taking pupils home as "dodgy at best" and "suspicious".

In another exchange about Foden's office, one of the management team wrote: "There's another one in there now."

Days later, another message referred to "a new girl".

Meg believes both comments referred to her.

While BBC Wales has not been able to verify this with the review team, Meg's family has provided text messages from the same period in which Foden discussed one-to-one "therapy sessions" with Meg, placing her in his office at the time senior staff were raising concerns.

Despite teachers' concerns at the time, no referral was made to Gwynedd Children's Services.

The review concluded this was "a missed opportunity and evidence of a failure of professional duty to report safeguarding concerns".

Meg said staff at Ysgol Friars would have seen her regularly visiting Foden.

Following the Child Practice Review report, Cyngor Gwynedd pledged to strengthen safeguarding procedures and support those affected by Foden's offending.

The plan included commitments to "apologise sincerely to the victims and their families for what they have had to suffer" and to "support the victims, school and wider community to recover from the impact of these events".

'I've blamed myself'

Meg says she was shocked when Foden was arrested. But as details emerged during the court case, she came to believe that she could have been next.

She said it took months to "piece everything together" and realise she had been groomed by Foden.

Looking back, she said she felt ashamed.

"I've blamed myself time and time again. Why didn't I spot what was happening?"

After Foden was jailed, Meg took legal advice and formally notified Cyngor Gwynedd of her intention to seek compensation to help cover the cost of therapy and mental health support.

A letter from lawyers acting for Cyngor Gwynedd's insurers argues that "no legal liability" rests with the council.

It said her allegations did not meet the legal threshold for claims which can include assault, harassment or the "intentional infliction of harm".

Meg said she was devastated by the response.

"It was heartbreaking," she said, and questioned why the impact on her mental health should be judged differently because there was no physical contact.

Meg said she continued to live with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

She said she had a "bright future ahead of me", but is still living with trauma almost three years later.

"I rely on medication to help me cope and to try to regain the life that was taken from me," she said.

Meg said Cyngor Gwynedd had "turned its back" on her.

"The very people and organisations that should have protected me want me to prove the damage that was done."

Cyngor Gwynedd said it acknowledged the failings identified in the Child Practice Review and repeated its apology to all victims.

A statement said Foden's "victims and survivors remained at the forefront of its thoughts" and that support, including independent counselling services, continued to be available.

While it could not comment on individual cases, the council said its external insurers were responsible for investigating claims, adding that, "where appropriate, we seek to resolve compensation claims as quickly as possible to avoid the need for victims to go through unnecessary legal proceedings."

'Grooming difficult to recognise'

Meg believes her case raises wider questions about the impact of grooming and the long-term effects it can have on victims.

Dr Nia Williams, a child psychologist at Bangor University, said grooming typically involves a gradual process of manipulation designed to gain a victim's trust.

She said: "They slowly make that individual feel important. They tell them, 'I'm the only person who cares about you' or 'I'm the only person who listens to you'."

Williams warned that the effects can continue long after the grooming has ended, particularly if victims do not receive appropriate support.

Meg hopes her story will help others recognise the signs of grooming and speak out.

"People need to be taught what grooming is. Especially in a school where there are people who don't know what the signs are."

"When I was 14, I didn't do anything to deserve this," she said. "This happened to me, but it doesn't define me."

If you've been affected by issues raised in this story, there is information and support available on BBC Action Line.