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| Chetham's music school violin teacher arrested on suspicion of rape | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A violin teacher at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester has been arrested on suspicion of rape. | |
| Wen Zhou Li is one of at least six current or former teachers from Chetham's and the RNCM who are being investigated by officers from Greater Manchester police's public protection unit, according to Guardian sources. | |
| A spokeswoman for the RNCM said: "Wen Zhou Li has been suspended from the college. I can't comment further at this time." | A spokeswoman for the RNCM said: "Wen Zhou Li has been suspended from the college. I can't comment further at this time." |
| Li, originally from China, has taught at both institutions since 1996. According to his profile on the RNCM website, he came to England in 1988 to teach at the Yehudi Menuhin school and is founder of the international violin sonata course. He was featured in a Channel 4 television documentary called Learning with Mr Li, which focused on his teaching at Chetham's. | |
| Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, of Greater Manchester police, said: "We have today arrested a 57-year-old man from Cheshire on suspicion of committing rape. This also relates to historic offences and he will be interviewed later today by detectives." | |
| He said detectives were looking into at least 20 individual allegations of sexual offences reported by former pupils at Chetham's. | |
| "We are aware of the widespread media coverage about our investigation into reports of historic sexual abuse at Chetham's," Jackson said. "Continued speculation in the press about former teachers and incidents can be unhelpful to the victims and the investigation. This is therefore something we cannot comment on directly at present. | |
| "That said, we understand the need for as much transparency as possible, so what we can say is this investigation is looking into more than 20 individual reports of sexual offences reported by former pupils at the school." | |
| He added: "Various names have been mentioned in the press of people involved in offences. Clearly we will use this information, comparing it against allegations made. If any of those publicly named wish to speak to police directly now, we will of course interview them to take their account. In the meantime we will continue to interview witnesses and victims and take action following this. | |
| "These are historic offences which involved a relatively small number of teachers. We are working closely with victims and witnesses and will have specially trained officers to support them. We have formed a dedicated team of investigators to look into this and are working closely with the school. | |
| "It is also important to point out that given the number of people we need to speak to and the number of inquiries to be done, this is an investigation that could take some time. While we appreciate the anguish of victims who have waited years to come forward, it is only right and proper we do things robustly and comprehensively. Whilst we will work expeditiously, this cannot be rushed." |