Nishimachi International School is trying to reach alumni from the 1980s after a teacher from that period was convicted of child sex abuse in England.

Richard Biddick, who taught fifth grade at the school from 1982 to 1988, admitted abusing an 11-year-old boy in Britain shortly before moving to Japan, U.K. newspapers reported last month. The victim is now an adult, and Biddick, also a former scoutmaster, is retired.

The court heard Biddick befriended the boy while train-spotting and served him drugged hot chocolate before abusing him as he slept. In 2002, he was convicted separately of possessing thousands of obscene images of children.

On April 28, Nishimachi International School, based in Minato Ward, Tokyo, sent an email to Nishimachi alumni and their families explaining that Biddick had been sentenced to eight years in prison.

※On behalf of the Nishimachi Board of Directors, I am in the process of contacting the Nishimachi Community (students, teachers, staff and others) from the period during 1982-1988, alerting them of the news reports and reaching out for more information or evidence of whether any inappropriate conduct occurred or was reported to the school during the time when Mr. Biddick was a Nishimachi employee,§ Terry Christian, the headmaster, said in the message.

※If any alumni have information or evidence related to this matter, I would be grateful if you could contact me directly. This information will be handled with sensitivity and confidentiality and will be evaluated by the Nishimachi Board,§ it said.

On Monday, Christian confirmed to The Japan Times that he wants to speak with people who were at the school during that period.

※In due course I will keep the Nishimachi community informed of progress with this matter,§ he said in an email.

This is at least the third sex abuse scandal to rock an international school in Japan in recent years.

In March 2014, the American School in Japan grappled with allegations that former teacher Jack Moyer sexually abused at least 32 girls while teaching there from 1962 to 1984. He committed suicide in Tokyo in 2004.

The ASIJ last June blamed ※historical lack of formal policies and protocols for responding to allegations of sexual abuse§ and ※cultural norms that treated discussing sexual abuse as taboo§ as the reasons why it had covered up the issue for decades.

And in September 2014, former students of St. Mary＊s International School alleged they were abused by teachers and other members of staff. One said he had been raped in 1965 by Brother Lawrence Lambert, who later became an elementary school principal.