Famed violinist accused of 'horrible' sexual assault on teenage student at Royal College of Music

A pupil who says she was sexually assaulted by an internationally-renowned violinist was acrophobic to study the incidental successful lawsuit it damaged her chances of a vocation successful music, a tribunal has heard.

Jan Repko, 66, is accused of groping the 18-year-old pistillate during a proceedings acquisition astatine the Royal College of Music erstwhile helium was considering becoming her teacher.

The pupil says Repko asked “may I?“ arsenic she played, earlier putting 1 manus connected her waist and different connected her bottom.

The teacher is past alleged to person placed his manus implicit the woman’s crotch country and unbuttoned her trousers successful the incidental successful July 2022.

Southwark crown tribunal heard the pistillate told a person a “horrible“ incidental had happened during the lesson, but she feared making an authoritative study to constabulary and the prestigious school.

“She said helium is simply a truly celebrated violinist and helium has a batch of powerfulness successful the industry“, the person told the court.

“She didn’t cognize if it was thing she should report, due to the fact that it could jeopardise her aboriginal and career.“

Repko, who lives successful Fulham, south-west London, denies sexual assault and battle by penetration, and branded the allegations “absurd“ erstwhile helium was archetypal arrested.

The person told jurors she was disquieted astir the alleged unfortunate erstwhile she stopped messaging for a fewer days astatine the clip of the alleged assaults.

The pistillate past got successful interaction to archer her person “something happened to her the week anterior that she felt truly stressed and horrible about, that she wanted to speech to maine about.“

The person told the court: “She called maine and started talking, she said she was feeling beauteous horrible astir thing that happened to her.

“She was struggling to woody with things – she told maine she had a consultation with a teacher astatine the RCM (Royal College of Music) and she explained what a consultation was due to the fact that I wasn’t sure. It’s similar an audition erstwhile trying to find a teacher you spell and person a acquisition wherever you show your skills, playing immoderate pieces, to spot whether they volition instrumentality you up arsenic a pupil.

“She said the acquisition started disconnected fine. At immoderate constituent the teacher told her she was leaning guardant excessively overmuch and she needed to readjust her weight.

“She said helium approached her and asked ‘may I?’, to which she responded ‘yes’.“

The pistillate says she expected Repko to assistance with her limb positioning, but alternatively helium “touched her butt“.

“She told maine she conscionable froze, she wasn’t capable to recognize what was going connected due to the fact that it was truthful shocking“, said the friend.

“She wasn’t definite if she should study it, she said she had a batch of things to suffer and it would beryllium her connection implicit the teacher’s word.“

The pistillate said she continued playing the portion of music, and afterwards Repko praised her endowment and suggested they would marque a “good partnership“, the tribunal heard. He past walked her to the conduit presumption without referring to the incident, it is said.

“She was precise aggravated astatine the mode she reacted“, said the friend.

“Normally she is simply a precise feisty person, she tin basal up for herself.

“She was aggravated and disappointed she didn’t bash capable astatine the clip things were happening.

“She felt that besides whitethorn not springiness her the close to accidental thing now. She was precise aggravated with herself astir the full situation.“

The person said she encouraged her to study the incident, and aboriginal the pistillate told her person she “hadn’t told maine everything that happened, arsenic thing adjacent worse happened to him grabbing my butt“.

Repko was tutor moving successful London for the RCM, which was established successful 1883 and ranks among the world’s starring conservatoires for performing arts.

Notable alumni including classical composers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, arsenic good arsenic philharmonic theatre prima Alfie Boe and theatre brag Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

Repko has led euphony masterclasses astir the world, helium besides taught astatine Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music successful Manchester, helium spent 5 years arsenic concertmaster of the Northern Philharmonic Orchestra successful the Netherlands and is simply a co-founder of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra.

Repko denies sexually assaulting the pistillate during the lesson.