Man jailed after false ‘Chernobyl radiation test’ assaults on students

A man who indecently assaulted three people at a Scottish university while falsely claiming to be conducting radiation testing after the Chernobyl disaster has been jailed.

John Beaumont has been jailed for four years and eight months, after he admitted indecently assaulting three students at the University of St Andrews during the 1980s.

The 66-year-old will serve this sentence consecutively to a previous jail term he received from a court in Manchester in 2017, when he was convicted of similar offences.

Following the latest sentencing, Scotland’s Crown Office said Beaumont pretended to be a Ministry of Defence official who was tasked with gathering samples from people following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster.

The explosion at the nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which at that point was part of the Soviet Union, led to heightened concerns about radiation poisoning.

At the University of St Andrews, he produced false identification and consent forms as part of his ruse before subjecting two men and a woman to fake medical examinations.

After striking up a friendship with one man, Beaumont told him based on his medical records, that his victim had a heightened risk of developing cancer.

This left the victim “terrified”, prosecutors said.

The man was later summoned to Beaumont’s room where he was told to sign a false Official Secrets non-disclosure agreement and warned he would be charged by the authorities if he breached it.

Beaumont then assaulted the man while claiming to take samples from him with a hypodermic needle and performing examinations on several occasions afterwards.

Beaumont, who became a sub-warden at the halls of residence during this period of offending, targeted a second man on one occasion.

Prosecutors said this victim believed Beaumont’s claims about the “secret mission” and was left feeling “embarrassed, awkward and anxious” after Beaumont took a sample from him with a syringe.

The third victim was a woman who was approached by Beaumont, who told her he had been asked to take her radiation levels by the Foreign Office.

She recalled that he was “very convincing” and agreed to the test with Beaumont also using a Geiger counter in the fake examination.

Beaumont admitted three charges of indecent assault at the High Court in Edinburgh on October 6, 2023.

On Friday, a judge imposed an additional sentence of four years and eight months.

He was jailed for 13 and a half years at a court in Manchester in 2017.

Commenting after the sentencing on Friday, Katrina Parkes, procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offences, said: “John Beaumont manipulated and preyed on vulnerable students who should have been safe under his care.

“He exploited their fears and went to extreme lengths to convince them he was carrying out medical tests in an official capacity.

“His victims have shown great courage and resilience in holding this man accountable for his crimes.

“It is thanks to them that this conviction has been secured.

“I would encourage all victims of similar offending – no matter how long ago it may have occurred – to come forward, report it and seek help.”