Victims of David Pickthall recall him being a predator who abused his position as a successful musician.
David Pickthall was once regarded as a respected, enthusiastic and kind music teacher and choirmaster who had an extensive career in film and TV.
Mark, a survivor of Pickthall's abuse and the first person to report his experiences to the police in 2021, said: "Behind private doors - I don't use this word lightly - he was a monster."Pickthall was an accomplished musician, and throughout his career he worked in TV and film, conducting music on Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me in 2004 and supervising the music for Julian Fellowes' A Most Mysterious Murder in 2005.
"At the end of it, he would turn around and the audience would stand up, give him a huge round of applause and he would bow and soak up all of this public adoration."He said the abuse initially started with the former teacher tapping Mark on the back of his hand when he made a mistake during his lessons. But after six months, Pickthall started to touch his genitals under his clothes.
Mark said the birth of his child gave him courage in 2021 to report Pickthall to the police and hoped it would protect other children.Edward, which is not his real name, said he met Pickthall when he was three years old and the abuse started when he was a pupil aged about 12 or 13. "We would have pizza and I remember I would drink a lot of whisky there and then he would take me home on the Sunday and stay for Sunday lunch, that was the level of confidence he had."
Edward said he was always academic and had gone on to have a successful career and a family of his own."Some of the reasons I hadn't come forward, with all of this type of grooming is that he was some type of friend. So it is really weird to start telling tales on a friend.
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