A former prep school teacher who sexually abused a boy she tutored has been jailed for seven years. Deborah Franklin, 65, who taught at a preparatory school in Hertfordshire, was the complainant's private tutor during the 1990s and subjected him to repeated sexual activity while he was aged between nine and 12.
Conviction and sentencing
Earlier this year she was convicted at St Albans Crown Court of eight counts of gross indecency against the boy after a trial. Franklin was sentenced at the same court to seven years in prison on Thursday by His Honour Judge Choudhry, who said her offending involved a profound abuse of trust.
Prosecution and defence statements
Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger told the hearing on Thursday that Franklin took the opportunities provided by her role and the trust placed in her to repeatedly abuse the boy. Aisling Byrnes, mitigating, said Franklin lived an exemplary life and continued to teach in the years after the offences were committed.
