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Agustín Fernández, a former composition lecturer at the University, is being hunted by the police after his sentencing on 16 March.
Fernández was absent as a judge sentenced him to 23 years in custody
Fernández was absent as a judge sentenced him to 23 years in custody, with a one-year extended licence. The 62-year-old had been found guilty of 13 offences at Newcastle Crown Court, including five of rape and six of sexual assault.
In an online post, Fernández had written: “If we were not well-bred people who respect each other and if recriminations were to fly across the ether, I do wonder what recrimination the institution would find to throw my way.
“There is any number of ways I might have imagined my time at Newcastle University to come to an end, but not the way it happened.
“That misfortune struck, perhaps, and that there is a limit to how far an institution can sustain a situation of misfortune.
“If that was a reprehensible act on my part, I have paid for it by falling on my sword.”
Northumbria Police believe Fernández has since succeeded in fleeing the country
Northumbria Police believe Fernández has since succeeded in fleeing the country. A spokesman said: “On Monday March 16, the defendant was found guilty of a number of sexual offences in his absence at Newcastle Crown Court.
“It is currently believed that he is out of the country and inquiries are ongoing to trace him.”
Fernández is a Bolivian national, who was involved with the Bolivian National Orchestra in La Paz, between 1973 and 1980. He worked as the private secretary to the Bolivian ambassador to Japan between 1980 and 1983.
Agustin Fernandez conviction Crime lecturer Newcastle Crown Court Newcastle University sexual assault
Last modified: 26th March 2020
