Michael McCue, a 93-year-old former maths teacher, has pleaded guilty to further child sexual offences at Liverpool Crown Court. The charges relate to a boy aged as young as 11 in the 1970s, and he will be sentenced in December after being released on conditional bail.
Details of the Offences
McCue, of Meggetgate in Edinburgh, admitted six counts of indecent assault and one of attempted buggery. He had been due to go on trial on Monday over the allegations but changed his plea. Judge Simon Medland KC granted him conditional bail until sentencing.
The offences occurred at the former Page Moss School, later Bowring Community Sports College, where McCue taught for several decades. The school closed in 2009 after merging with Knowsley Hey High School to form the Lord Derby Academy.
Background and Previous Convictions
McCue has been jailed several times for sexually abusing former pupils. In March 2025, the court heard he "abused his clear position of trust" to assault a teenage boy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including touching the victim's genitals and making indecent comments. He was given a suspended prison sentence last year.
His previous convictions include 15 months for three counts of indecent assault in 2001, six months in 2004, a suspended sentence in 2006, two years in 2014, and a 20-month suspended sentence in 2016. In the 2014 case, he threatened a 14-year-old boy to prevent him from revealing the abuse.
Victim Impact and Court Proceedings
The victim in the latest case told the court: "From a young age, I was subjected to manipulation from someone who I was supposed to trust. This has driven me to attempt to take my own life on several occasions." He added: "He stole what should have been the formative years of my life, shaping me to being a responsible and normal man."
David Polglase, prosecuting, outlined how McCue "befriended" the pupil by discussing his "adventures to the mountains, Scotland and skiing" and inviting him to play billiards at his home. The assaults occurred in the classroom while "positioning himself so as not to be seen by other pupils".
McCue was interviewed by detectives in May 2024 but denied the allegation, stating he "must have got the wrong teacher". His defence counsel, David Watson, said McCue was in poor health and "effectively housebound", arguing he would be "significantly vulnerable in a custodial setting".
Sentencing in the previous case, District Judge Gwyn Jones told McCue: "Behind that respectable façade, you were a sexual deviant who used his position to take advantage of those who you felt were vulnerable." McCue was also ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs and to sign the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
