Suspended from his job at the £30,000-a-year public school where he became deputy head after leaving the school where the alleged rape took place, the damage inflicted on the 37-year-old's reputation may never be undone

The super-rich parents of a deeply troubled schoolgirl who falsely accused a deputy headteacher of rape forked out £250,000 to help her, it has emerged.

Geography teacher Kato Harris, 37, was cleared of three counts of sexually assaulting the teenage pupil in just 26 minutes last week.

The case has sparked questions as to why the Crown Prosecution Service decided to press ahead with the trial.

The girl, who was under 16 at the time, claimed the attacks took place in the autumn term of 2013 at the £18,000-a-year all girls' London boarding school – but only spoke out a year later.

Her millionaire parents paid for two private therapists for the then 14-year-old, including one she visited in New York every week for a year - plus a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist.

At the time, the girl did not tell anyone what had allegedly happened to her in October, November and December 2013.

In fact the allegations only emerged when she moved to a new school and staff became concerned about her unhappiness, panic attacks and eating habits.

A year after the last of the three alleged rapes, her housemistress persuaded her to write down what was wrong.

She handed her a piece of paper that simply read: 'I was raped.'

The teenager then gave a police interview in which she declined to give the name of her alleged abuser. Following that, the CPS concluded they did not have enough evidence to charge Mr Harris.

It was then her parents - who divide their time between a £7million townhouse and a mansion in the country - decided to step in.

They hired Sue Akers, a former deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, as a private investigator. Miss Akers held several meetings with serving officers about the case.

Detective Constable Sarah Lloyd, the officer leading the investigation, admitted in court that it was 'unique' for such a former high ranking officer to be involved in this way.

And the girl's mother said she had spoken to Miss Akers - who spent 36 years with the Met and famously led three linked phone hacking investigations for the Met - up to a dozen times during the investigation.

The family also used the services of exclusive law firm Mishcon de Reya ahead of the case and Alison Levitt QC, a partner at the firm, was entrusted with handling the matter.

Shortly afterwards the girl asked for a second interview with police - described in court as 'rehearsed' - and Mr Harris was charged.

She barely knew Mr Harris and yet on three separate occasions over the autumn of 2013 would claim he had invited her into his classroom during their lunch break and then raped her.

During the trial he insisted it was 'completely impossible' for him to have carried out the attacks.

He said the corridors were full of staff and pupils during lunch hour, and the doors into the classroom were transparent.

Geography teacher Kato Harris, 37, was cleared of three counts of sexually assaulting the teenage pupil

When the jury acquitted him, he wept and sank to his knees, saying later that 'the last 20 months have put massive stress on my family and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their love and care'.

Mr Harris added: 'There is a beautiful world out there and for 20 months I've been terrified of it, and I've been hiding from it. I'm now going into it a good man, and a free man.