A teacher has been jailed for targeting and having sex with a teenage boy as he studied for his GCSEs. Emily Drury, 26, pleaded guilty to five charges of sexual activity with the boy and was sentenced to four and a half years at Lincoln Crown Court.
Abuse of trust during tutoring sessions
The court heard how Drury engaged in sexual behaviour with the minor on numerous occasions while acting as a private tutor between May and June 2025. She had offered to tutor the boy after lower-than-expected mock exam results, to help him pass his GCSE exams.
A flurry of horrifying details were heard in court, including how she left him a note which read: "I enjoy every piece of you." An emotional victim impact statement from the boy said he went through something "no child should ever have to experience".
Victim describes lasting impact
He said the abuse had left him feeling "unable to simply enjoy being a child" and he "still lives with the consequences every day", adding that he no longer trusts people after suffering the abuse at the hands of someone he should have trusted.
In a statement read out in court, the victim said: "She was kind to me. She would say positive things to me, buy me clothes, she would talk to me and made me feel better about myself. I trusted her and confided in her about some very personal things."
He went on to describe how he felt after the allegations had been made: "I felt judged. I felt that people blamed me. I felt unable to simply be a child. I worried that people would not take me seriously because I am a boy. I believed there was a stigma attached to being a male victim of sexual abuse, and that fear made it even harder to cope."
Police condemn delayed guilty plea
The court heard how she manipulated him into having sex and even left him a note saying "I enjoy every piece of you". She was also criticised for only changing her plea to guilty at the final moment, leading to "months of uncertainty" for the victim in the lead up to the case being heard.
Detective Constable Julie Jode, who investigated the case, said: "Drury abused her position of trust and exploited the access she had to a vulnerable young person for her own purposes. As an adult in a position of authority, she was expected to provide guidance, support, and protection. Instead, she used that position to target and manipulate someone who should have been able to trust her implicitly."
She added: "Offences of this nature can have a profound and lasting impact on victims, particularly when they involve a significant imbalance of power and an abuse of trust. The victim in this case was forced to navigate an incredibly difficult and challenging period of his life while also facing the uncertainty of a lengthy criminal justice process. The fact that the offender delayed accepting responsibility only added to that ordeal."
Sentencing and additional orders
In mitigation, barrister Jeremy James described Drury's offending as an "uncharacteristic, fantastical relationship" as a form of "escaping the reality of her life".
On sentencing, Judge James House KC said Drury had "failed to fully accept the magnitude of harm caused" to the boy. He said, on reading the character references she had supplied in defence, he could see her "kindness and compassion", but said the offending had come from a place of "her own selfish desires".
Drury was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. She must serve at least half of the sentence before being considered for release. She was also given a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order to last five years, and was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
