A former preparatory school teacher, Deborah Franklin, has been jailed for seven years after being convicted of sexually abusing a boy she tutored. Franklin, 65, who taught at a Hertfordshire preparatory school, was found to have subjected the boy to "repeated sexual activity" between the ages of nine and 12 during the 1990s.
In July, Franklin was convicted of eight counts of gross indecency following a trial. At her sentencing hearing at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Choudhry stated that her offending involved a "profound abuse of trust".
Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger told the court that Franklin "took the opportunities provided by her role and the trust placed in her to repeatedly abuse [the boy]". The victim first reported the incidents to police in March 2024.
Aisling Byrnes, defending, said Franklin, of Radlett, Hertfordshire, had lived an "exemplary life" and maintained her innocence, denying all charges and stating she could not remember tutoring the boy.