Former teacher Deborah Franklin sentenced to seven years

Deborah Franklin, a former preparatory-school teacher in Hertfordshire, was sentenced to seven years in prison at St Albans Crown Court after being convicted of eight counts of gross indecency involving a boy she tutored in the 1990s. The boy was between nine and 12 during the offences, according to court reporting. The conviction followed a trial earlier this year. Franklin, 65, denied the allegations and told jurors she could not remember tutoring the boy. The judge, Kamran Choudhry, described the offending as a profound abuse of trust, according to accounts of the sentencing. The court heard that Franklin became the boy’s private tutor after teaching at a preparatory school. Prosecutors said her role gave her opportunities to be alone with him and that the family trusted her during tutoring sessions. The complainant testified that she subjected him to repeated sexual activity. He described an incident at Franklin’s home in which, he said, she tied him to a bed and blindfolded him. These details come from his account presented in court. The complainant also told the court that Franklin called out her husband’s name during one sexual encounter.