Pupil who says she was groomed by paedophile head in fight for compensation

Pupil who says she was groomed by paedophile head in fight for compensationImage source, North Wales PoliceImage caption, Neil Foden was jailed for 17 years for a string of sexual abuse offencesByElen WynNewyddion S4CPublished1 hour agoA former pupil says she suffers nightmares and flashbacks after claiming she was groomed by former headteacher Neil Foden.Meg, not her real name, said the convicted paedophile groomed her in 2023 when she was 14 and a pupil at Ysgol Friars in Bangor, Gwynedd. He did not physically or sexually assault her, she said, but the impact of his behaviour continues to affect her.She said she now has to prove the effect his alleged grooming has had on her after insurers acting on behalf of Cyngor Gwynedd invited her to withdraw a compensation claim to help cover the cost of therapy.The council said all compensation cases relating to Foden remained under consideration.The letter from Cyngor Gwynedd's insurers, seen by Newyddion S4C, external, said there was no suggestion that Foden touched her and states "no legal liability" in relation to her proposed claim.Foden was jailed for 17 years in 2024 for a series of sexual offences against young girls.Meg, now 17, believes she is the "new girl" referred to in an independent Child Practice Review, a report examining safeguarding failures linked to Neil Foden's offending, published in November 2025.She said she was groomed by Foden during a series of unofficial one-to-one "therapy sessions" in his office.Timeline of Foden's offendingIn 2023, Meg was struggling at school, and, after discussing her difficulties with her parents, Foden offered to provide one-to-one support.When she learned about the arrangement, Meg said she was shocked.She said: "I felt I was in a position where I couldn't say no."Meg said Foden told her not to tell her parents about the meetings, while also asking her parents not to discuss the arrangement with her. She believe...