Locations
Albrighton, Shropshire, WV7
Description
The "predatory and manipulative" actor is facing a lengthy jail term after being convicted of 26 sex offences against women and children on Tuesday (December 10).
The 24-year-old, of Albrighton, Shropshire, was found guilty of all charges brought against him, including raping a teenager during acting classes, following a four week trial.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how he forced pupils in his drama class to recite Shakespeare naked and also engaged in nude role-play scenarios.
The actor - who starred in BBC's Doctors and was an uncredited student in Netflix's Sex Education - sexually assaulted one girl over a seven-year period and also filmed budding teen actress naked on his iPad.
Jurors were told he had been a sexual predator from a child with his criminality stretching back to when he was aged just ten.
Through out the course of his trial, pictures began to surface from his public Instagram - featuring some of his past works and trips to premiers. But some of them hit a strikingly different tone in light of his predatory actions.
One photo shows him posing for selfies with beloved British actor Asa Butterfield, who played a lead role in Sex Education, while Westwood appeared only in the background.
Others showed him dressed as iconic characters popular films and TV shows - including one of him dressed like David Tennant's tenth doctor from the BBC series Doctor Who - which may have inspired the actors choice of coat for his trial.
Another, which set a stomach-churning tone following the conviction was a snap of him dressed like the children's fairy-tale character Peter Pan, who whisks kids off to Neverland to never grow up. Westwood played the leading role in Peter Pan The Musical at Birmingham's Blue Orange Theatre back in 2018.
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said: "When giving acting lessons, he again used this as an opportunity to touch his pupils inappropriately. These are schoolgirls we are talking about, teenagers. Imagine asking Dame Judi Dench to recite Hamlet naked - she would tell you where to go."
Westwood sexually assaulted and raped one pupil who described how he would hold her down by the wrists, forcing her to bite him to get away. He also called the police on one of his victims whilst harassing her.
When one of the girls complained to her parents about his behaviour Westwood told her mum she owed him £18,000 due to the contract he made her sign, including a clause which said she had to pay for missed lessons. His victims watched on in horror as he continued to work on television and frequently boasted about having stars as friends on social media.
After parents reported Westwood to the police, so did the college he was teaching at, and from his first police interview he lied and blamed the victims. Mr Wallace told the court: "Alexander Westwood is a supreme manipulator. "All these charges have a common theme, of inappropriate touching and predatory behaviour."
Instead of pleading guilty to the raft of sexual abuse and rape charges the actor lied to the bitter end, forcing his victims the horrific ordeal of facing him in court.
After cross-examination by Westwood's lawyer James Bloomer KC, several of the young women giving evidence against him left the court in floods of tears. Westwood looked on from the dock, showing no emotion. He will be sentenced on February 25 next year.