Former Telford magistrate and deputy head jailed for raping woman with learning difficulties

Santokh Minhas had been deputy headteacher at a school in Oswestry before moving to the John Hunt School, Telford.

He has also served as a magistrate in Telford, and was on the bench as recently as 2010. But today he was behind bars, jailed for nine years for the attack.

The 67-year-old was cleared by a jury of five charges of rape, but found guilty of the sixth.

Minhas formerly served on Telford's Race Equality Council and was a committee member at Coalport Village Hall. He was also part of Telford's Multi Cultural Development Service, which provides advice to schools teaching pupils for whom English is a second language.

The attack came to light in June last year when the victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – confided in a friend at the college she was studying at. Teachers were informed and the police notified, prosecutor Edward Burgess told Worcester Crown Court, sitting at the Shirehall in Hereford.

Minhas, formerly of Sutton Bank, Coalport, and most recently living in Shifnal, had told the victim – who is more than 40 years younger than Minhas – that her mother would "kill her" if she found out.

Following his conviction, DC Pauline Newton, of the adults at risk team at West Mercia Police, said: "Minhas exploited his victim's vulnerability with his manipulative behaviour and as a result she has suffered terribly.

"With that in mind, he was thoroughly deserving of his sentence and I hope this sends a message to those people who are sexually exploiting vulnerable people that we will do everything in our power to bring you to justice and protect those who need protection."