A Doctors star has been found guilty of 26 sex offences. (Image: BBC)
An actor who appeared in BBC’s Doctors and Netflix’s Sex Education has been found guilty of 26 sex offences, including against children and two pupils he gave acting classes to.
Alexander Westwood, from Albrighton in Shropshire, was branded “manipulative and predatory” by the prosecution. The trial heard that he had a fascination with pornography from a young age and his repeated sexual offending was “a habit”.
The 24-year-old denied 26 offences, including raping a schoolgirl who came to him for acting lessons and sexually assaulting a child over an eight-year period.
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said Westwood forced a teenage girl who came to him for acting classes “to act out the most inappropriate scenes” while another was repeatedly abused by him.
Mr Wallace said that when the pupil questioned and challenged him, Westwood would say: “Do what your teacher says…do you trust me?”
Alexander Westwood, 24, was branded “manipulative and predatory”. (Image: SWNS)
When she missed drama lessons following the abuse, Westwood introduced a contract that “tied her in” to 365 lessons. He said that if she broke the contract he would bill her family £18,000, News reports.
His abuse of the second schoolgirl, which occurred between May and August 2021, included Westwood forcing her to act out a scene nude and he touched her.
The court heard that she later messaged him saying it made her feel “uncomfortable”, to which he replied: “It’s just part of acting.”
Another victim, a woman, said she was sexually assaulted by Westwood between September 2020 and October 2021.
Alexander Westwood will be sentenced in February. (Image: SWNS)
Westwood was also convicted of the repeated sexual assault of a child between 2010 and 2018 and inciting another child, a boy aged between nine and 10, to engage in sexual activity.
Defending, James Bloomer questioned the accounts of Westwood’s victims. He said one woman’s delay in mentioning any offending was “lost opportunities” which made it harder to be sure about what she was saying, News reports.
He will be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on February 24.
Westwood starred in 17 episodes of ‘s Sex Education between 2019 and 2021 where he played a student.
He also appeared in two episodes of ‘s Doctors, as a solicitor and a character named Chris, between 2018 and 2019.