A tutor has been accused of sexually assaulting a a student at the Royal College of Music.
Tutor and violinist Jan Repko allegedly assaulted an 18 year old during a trial lesson at the famed London institution.
Southwark Crown Court also heard allegations that Repko, 66, asked “how the experience had felt” after the incident in July 2022.
Repko has denied the charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration.
Nneka Akudolu KC for the prosecution told the court that Repko allegedly asked “may I?” before the student believed he was going to adjust her hand position, according to The Times.
Instead she said Repko “placed one hand on her waist and another on her bottom” and could “feel his breath near to her ear” and “not knowing how to respond to the situation, she continued playing.”
Ms Akudolu then claimed that “he placed his hand over her crotch area before undoing her trousers and inserting his finger into her vagina.”
A friend of the victim spoke to the court, saying: “She told me she just froze, she wasn’t able to understand what was going on because it was so shocking.”
After the incident, it is supposed “he invited her to sit down and he asked her how the experience had felt, to which she replied, ‘uncomfortable’”, and then proceeded to walk her to a nearby tube station.
According to the prosecution, the student initially “only told her mother that he had touched her bottom because she was so embarrassed and ashamed.”
The friend of the victim said that she was “reluctant because the defendant was so influential, and that if she made a complaint it could jeopardise her career.”
They continued by saying: “She called me and started talking, she said she was feeling pretty horrible about something that happened to her.
“She was struggling to deal with things – she told me she had a consultation with a teacher at the RCM (Royal College of Music) and she explained what a consultation was because I wasn’t sure. It’s like an audition when trying to find a teacher you go and have a lesson where you demonstrate your skills, playing some pieces, to see whether they will take you up as a pupil.”
According to The Standard, the friend also added that “[the victim] wasn’t sure if she should report it, she said she had a lot of things to lose and it would be her word over the teacher’s word”, and that she had been “very angry” at her reaction to the alleged assault.
Repko denies the allegations and according to the prosecution told the police that the allegations were “absurd” and that “anyone could have walked into the room at any time”.
“Normally she is a very feisty person, she can stand up for herself,” they told the court, “She was angry and disappointed she didn’t do enough at the time things were happening.
“She felt that also may not give her the right to say something now. She was very angry with herself about the whole situation.“
The trial continues.
RCM was contacted for comment but has not yet responded.
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