A science teacher accused of raping a schoolgirl in a storeroom said he wanted her to carry his baby, a court has heard. Darlington Nuwertey, 32, is standing trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court charged with nine counts of rape and one count of adult abuse of position of trust by engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 16 or above.
Prosecutor Richard Burrington told jurors that Nuwertey, of Bexleyheath, south London, is accused of calling the girl “beautiful” and repeatedly raping her in a school storeroom. The alleged offences took place while Nuwertey was a teacher at Oasis Academy Silvertown in Newham, east London.
Prosecution alleges abuse of power
Mr Burrington said the case concerns “a schoolgirl… and her teacher, Darlington Nuwertey, and how, the prosecution say, he took advantage of her sexually and in a manner we say amounts to the offences on this indictment.” He added: “We say that he took advantage of the imbalance of power between them in the school setting.”
The defendant “began to show an interest in her” when she was in Year 10, soon turning 16, the jury was told. He would ask her to wait behind at the end of the lesson and when they were alone in the classroom he would tell her things like she was “beautiful” and “mature for her age”, sometimes he would say things of an “overtly sexual nature”, Mr Burrington said.
She found she was struggling in science, and the defendant told her she should come to his class for extra help and she did.
Alleged incidents in school storeroom
Mr Burrington said: “On this particular occasion, when the two of them were alone, he locked the door, pinned her against the wall and began kissing her, while also forcefully groping her breast over her school uniform.” He said Nuwertey was “nearly caught redhanded” when a science technician came into the classroom, but he “quickly ran to the front of the class and pretended nothing untoward was going on”.
The court heard the technician was suspicious enough to report the incident to a more senior member of staff, sparking an internal investigation. Nuwertey allegedly pressured the girl into lying about their interaction, the jury heard.
It is said he asked her to send him nude pictures on Snapchat, he sent her pictures and videos, and he would contact her on Snapchat and tell her to meet him after school in a storeroom of another teacher’s class, the prosecutor said. Nuwertey would lock the door, and the prosecutor said he raped her many times.
Alleged encounters after leaving school
Mr Burrington said: “He has since denied any sexual activity between him and [the complainant] ever occurred while she was a schoolgirl of Oasis Academy and he was her teacher.” Nuwertey left Oasis Academy to work at Bexleyheath Academy, and several months later the girl alleges he contacted her, invited her to his house, and in the living room “told her he wanted her to carry his baby”, the prosecutor said. He then raped her, the jury was told.
A few months later the defendant kept pestering her to see him, he picked her up, drove her to his house and it is alleged he raped her again, the prosecution said. Nuwertey picked the complainant up on another date and took her to his house, but they remained in the car and he again told her “he wanted her to carry his baby”, he is then accused of raping her, the jury was told.
The defendant texted the complainant to say his wife had found out about them and he blocked her on Snapchat and Telegram, the prosecution said.
Discovery and arrest
The complainant’s father noticed she was spending money and wondered where it was coming from, checked her bank account and noticed money had been put into it, the prosecution said, adding that it was given to her by the defendant. The complainant then broke down in tears and told her father what had been happening, the court heard.
Nuwertey was arrested and gave a prepared statement in which he denied all allegations of sexual activity with a child, denied any sexual contact with the complainant and denied the allegation of rape. He said their relationship was professional in nature. Nuwertey denies the charges. The trial continues.
