An alleged Cradley Paedophile teacher from Herefordshire, Rebecca Richardson, accused of sexually assaulting a child in Turkey, should not be extradited due to her sadness, a judge has been informed.
Rebecca Richardson, 54, from Cradley, near Malvern, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday as she contests extradition to Turkey on claims of sexually assaulting a young child while employed at an international school in Istanbul.
The said incident occurred in early 2019, when the child was approximately four or five years old.
The court was informed that Rebecca Richardson departed the UK in 2000 and resided overseas for nearly 20 years.
Rebecca Richardson resided in Turkey from 2013 to 2019, having previously lived in Mexico and Hong Kong.
Doctors who have assessed her told the court she suffers from depression.
Dr Richard Latham said Richardson suffers from moderate depression, but her symptoms would worsen if she were to be extradited and imprisoned in Turkey. [Editor’s Note – It would get ALOT worse!]
Dr John Tully, who gave evidence by video link, said he deemed Rebecca Richardson’s condition mild, with “no objective signs she was severely depressed”.
Graeme Hall, representing Rebecca Richardson, asked Dr Latham if she were to be extradited, would her symptoms worsen, to which Dr Latham responded that he believed they would.
Asked if her risk of suicidal thoughts would worsen if she were extradited, Dr Latham said: “Yes.”
He raised concerns about Rebecca Richardson’s risk of suicide if she were to be extradited, and said the teacher can give the impression she “is in a better state than she is”.
Rebecca Richardson, who sat in seats in front of the dock, wore a white shirt and black blazer.
She spoke only to confirm she understood her duty to return to court for her next hearing.
She was granted conditional bail and will face a further extradition hearing on June 2. The decision on her extradition is not expected until two weeks after that.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.