Former headmaster spared jail for sexually abusing boy

A former headmaster who was awarded an MBE for services to young people has been spared jail for sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy more than 40 years ago. John Coatman, 76, groomed the teenager after setting up a Christian youth group called ‘The Crusaders’ based at his home in Croydon, south London, in 1973. Coatman originally denied the abuse and, last April, successfully overturned his conviction for gross indecency at the Court of Appeal because of errors by the police…