A STATEMENT has been issued by Pickering Town Council after its town clerk was found guilty of rape and indecent assault. 

James Husband, 68, of Wigginton, York, who was appointed town clerk in 1998, was convicted of one count of rape and five of indecently assaulting a girl as young as 14 between 1990 and 1994. He insisted they had “consensual sex” once when she was 16.

Husband taught history at the top private school Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, West Sussex, in the 1990s.

A jury of seven women and five men at Hove Crown Court deliberated for 25 hours and 43 minutes before returning their verdicts on the 21 counts against Husband and fellow teacher Gary Dobbie yesterday.

A statement issued by Pickering Town Council said: "Pickering Town Council has taken, and will continue to take, legal advice and procedural advice from the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations and the National Association of Local Councils. All necessary measures are in place and we will continue to keep the situation under constant review."

Angela Dawson is the current acting town clerk of Pickering Town Council.