Aristocrat abused girl of six at Castle Howard
AN aristocrat sexually abused a six-year-old girl and was accused of attempting to rape a young woman at the stately home used to film Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton.
Simon Howard, 65, terrorised a child guest at his Castle Howard family seat in a vile sexual assault carried out in the 1980s, a court heard.
Howard’s crime can be revealed for the first time after a court order banning publication was yesterday lifted by Judge Sean Morris at York crown court.
Father-of-two Howard, married to Marks & Spencer heiress Rebecca Sieff, denied the claim but was unfit to stand trial.
A further charge that he attempted to rape a woman in the early 2000s at the North Yorks residence was allowed to lie on file after prosecutors said pursuing the case to trial would not be in the public interest.
Early last year Howard suffered a brain haemorrhage after a fall and was put into a coma before spending months at a neurological rehabilitation centre where he contracted Covid. He was twice given only hours to live.
Resultant brain damage meant he could not be tried, but a trial of the facts over the assault on the six-year-old was held before a jury at York last month.
After a six-day hearing in which the victim gave evidence, jurors found Howard did commit the offences against her.
It is not a criminal conviction so he will face no punishment other than the loss of his reputation, a shattering blow for the Howard family, who are descended from Lord William Howard (1563-1640), the first occupier of the land.
Jurors heard Howard invited the little girl into his bed while his wife was seeing to the horses.
Michael Smith, prosecuting, told the court how Howard had been living in the gatehouse on the estate with his then-wife Annette, known as Scruff.
The girl had been asleep in another room but had been told by the Howards that she could visit their room when she woke.
She walked in wearing her pyjamas in the hope Mrs Howard would take her to see the horses.
Mr Smith said: “The defendant told her Scruff was already seeing to the horses and he told her to come into bed. Being an innocent child she saw nothing wrong with that so she did as he asked.”
Howard sexually assaulted the girl before she fled and told her mother. The furious mum confronted the couple, but Howard denied sexual contact.
Mr Smith said she did not take further action because it was not in her daughter’s “best interests”.
It took until February 2018 for the now married mother to finally alert the police.
Howard admitted the girl had been in his bed alone with him but denied the assault.
The victim told police her life had been “haunted” by the abuse. She was horrified a children’s charity event was hosted by her abuser at Castle Howard.
Howard was found to have sexually assaulted the child in 1984 and incited her to commit an act of gross indecency.
The second charge against him allegedly occurred in 2003 when a female guest woke to find Howard standing over her.
It is alleged he groped her before attempting rape, pursuing her from the bedroom to a bathroom as she fled in terror.
The next day when the guest left, she wrote in the guest book. “Thank you for having me.”
She claims Howard joked: “Shouldn’t that say thank you for NOT having me?”
‘Being an innocent child she saw nothing wrong’