Neil Beckett: School welfare officer denies rape of teenager

Image source, Pacemaker

Image caption, Neil Beckett pictured at a previous court appearance
  • Author, Ita Dungan
  • Role, 大象传媒 News NI

A school welfare officer has pleaded not guilty to the rape of a teenage girl.

Appearing at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, Neil Beckett, 43, also pleaded not guilty to sexual grooming the alleged victim and three further counts of sexual assault.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2013 and 2015.

At that time Mr Beckett, of Kilmore, near Crossgar in County Down, was an Army cadet leader.

Mr Beckett is currently suspended from his post of health and wellbeing officer at Lagan College in south Belfast.

In December last year, Mr Beckett pleaded not guilty to 27 sexual offence charges against 11 separate complainants, all of whom were young girls.

On Wednesday, those charges were read to him again in court.

He again denied 25 charges of sexual assault and two charges of sexual communication with a child.

Those offences span between 2018 and 2023.

Mr Beckett denied all the charges and will face trial for all 32 charges in September.