Police drop last music school rape charges

The Crown Prosecution Service have dropped all charges against the violin teacher Wen Zhou Li after it was found that his accuser had made allegations against another teacher, who was not prosecuted.

Wen Zhou Li, 61, had been charged with rape and indecent assault of a teenage girl at Chetham’s School of Music in the 1990s. He denied the charges and was due to face trial later this year.

The violin teacher, who also taught at the Royal Northern College of Music, was told that he left court without a stain on his character, free to resume his career. He faces heavy legal costs.

BBC report here.

The dismissal of charges against Wen Zhou Li brings to an end the three-year police investigation of sexual impropriety at Chetham’s and the RNCM in the 1990s. The case brought about the conviction of chorus director Mike Brewer and his ex-wife, Hilary, along with the conducting teacher Nicholas Smith.

The Brewers’ victim Frances Andrade took her own life during the trial. A violin teacher, Chris Ling, shot himself as California police arrived with an extradition warrant. Another violin teacher, Malcolm Layfield, was acquitted of rape.