Anthony Felton, a 54-year-old head teacher, is jailed for 10 years and eight months. He will serve two years and four months in prison for brutally assaulting his deputy, Richard Pyke. The despicable incident took place on March 5 at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Comprehensive in Aberavon, Neath Port Talbot. Felton pleaded guilty to committing intentional efforts to cause great bodily injury after he found out he was the father of a co-worker’s child. He was not pleased to learn about Richard Pyke dating her.
Felton’s actions were motivated by pain and envy over the sexual circumstances. With a metal wrench as his weapon of choice, Charles Leslie took the fight to Pyke’s office, where he delivered a fatal round of strikes. The violent outburst sent shockwaves through the local community and reignited fears about safety inside educational institutions.
Judge Paul Thomas KC, who presided over the case, was staggered by the “truly shocking” circumstances. It’s really extraordinary for a headmaster to go for the throat of his deputy. US District Judge Jeffrey White said that Felton’s sentence would have been much longer—three-and-a-half times as long—if he hadn’t accepted an early guilty plea. Felton will serve the first half of his sentence on supervised license. He was ordered to remain away from the victim with an indefinite restraining order, which guards Pyke and his family.
During the proceedings, Judge Thomas discussed the growing epidemic of violence in schools. Most importantly, he focused on the troubling increase of violence in schools and our communities at large. “You knew as well as anyone could have known the current prevalence of violence in our schools,” he stated. He further emphasized, “The appalling example this episode sets to others needs no emphasis from me.”
Felton’s defense attorney, John Hipkin KC, did not dispute Felton’s intelligence regarding what he did in Jeffreys’ care and how his actions would be perceived. Although he tried to rationalize it, Felton’s emotional distress was palpable. He recently endured the crushing loss of his mother. On all that, he got a cancer diagnosis, which would only have compounded his suffering.
Richard Pyke, the openly gay target of the attack, testified that he felt deliberately herded into a vulnerable position by Felton. “I thought we were trusted colleagues who had, over many years, built up a relationship of trust and understanding,” he reflected. The psychological scars from that attack are still deep for him. “It terrifies me still. I’ve really lost a ton of who I am, and as a result, he shared. I do not think that I will ever be okay with that.
Judge Thomas wasn’t buying it, pointing out that the underlying underpinnings for Felton’s actions were based on jealousy over an adulterous liaison. “Ultimately, the trigger for your act of extreme violence was of your own doing, the overwhelming sexual jealousy arising from an adulterous affair and the uncontrollable rage it created in you,” he stated during the sentencing.
Perhaps most compellingly, the judge acknowledged that more frequently than not, these events result in grievous bodily injury or death. “Too often we see attacks of this nature result in life-changing injuries or fatal consequences, and thankfully, that was not the result in this case,” said Abul Hussain, a representative involved in the proceedings.
