Summary:
A former music teacher has been cleared of indecently assaulting a pupil because he planned to sue the school and its head.

Full article:
By . Mail On Sunday . A titled music teacher jailed for sexually abusing a ten-year-old pupil has had his conviction quashed. Sir Peter Newson-Smith was found guilty last May of two charges of indecent assault while head of music at boarding school Clayesmore Prep, in Dorset, 30 years ago. But the Court of Appeal has now ruled that the evidence given by his alleged victim, John Cartwright, now in his 40s, was misleading because he failed to disclose he planned to sue Sir Peter and the school for damages. Overturned: Peter Newson Smith, right, has been freed from jail after six months of a five-and-a-half year sentence. The court ruled alleged victim, John Cartwright, left, did not reveal he planned to sue for damages . The original hearing was told that Sir . Peter, the 3rd Baronet of Totteridge, lured the ‘vulnerable and . isolated’ pupil into a cupboard on ten separate occasions before making . him strip naked and molesting him. Sir Peter, 66, who retired  from the £7,500-a-term school in 2003 after 24 years, served six months in prison. He refused to comment.