A former preparatory school teacher has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of gross indecency against a boy she tutored in the 1990s. Deborah Franklin, 65, tied the victim to her bed and blindfolded him before carrying out a sex act, the court heard.
Offences committed while she was a private tutor
Franklin, who was in her 30s and married at the time, became the boy's private tutor and subjected him to “repeated sexual activity” while he was aged between nine and 12. She was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on October 1 by His Honour Judge Choudhry, who said her offending involved a “profound abuse of trust”.
Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger told the hearing that Franklin “took the opportunities provided by her role and the trust placed in her to repeatedly abuse (the boy)”.
Victim's statement read to court
The accuser said that during one sex act, Franklin called out her husband’s name. In a statement read out in front of the court, the victim said: “I have carried the abuse with me throughout my life, it has been a constant shadow. My life has been shaped by what happened to me when I was a nine-year-old boy.”
Aisling Byrnes, mitigating, said Franklin lived an “exemplary life” and continued to teach in the years after the offences were committed. She added that her client “maintains her innocence”.
