Deborah Franklin 65

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Former Hertfordshire teacher Deborah Franklin convicted of gross indecency against boy she tutored

Deborah Franklin, 65, of Radlett, Hertfordshire, has been found guilty of eight counts of gross indecency against a boy she privately tutored in the 1990s, when he was aged between nine and 12.

Franklin, then in her 30s, married and a teacher at a preparatory school in Hertfordshire, was trusted by the boy’s family to conduct tutoring sessions in his room. Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger told jurors at St Albans Crown Court that she was a woman “whose boundaries were just not there.”

The court heard that Franklin took her clothes off in front of the boy, kissed him, got him to touch her and performed multiple sexual acts. On one occasion she tied him to her bed and blindfolded him during sexual activity. The complainant, now in his 40s, said she described herself as his “girlfriend” but urged him to be discreet. He had “no memory of work ever being done” during the sessions.

The boy’s sister described Franklin as “fun, she was charismatic. I thought she was cool.” The boy viewed her as “young” and “high energy,” someone who “presented like a mate” and spoke about drugs, cigarettes and sex. His sister once saw Franklin under the covers of his bed.

Franklin denied all charges, saying she could not remember tutoring the boy. She told the court it was “quite common for teachers and parents and children to socially interact” and that it would not have been “unusual” to be in a pupil’s bedroom or on their bed while tutoring them.

She was charged under the Indecency with Children Act 1960, the law in force at the time (later replaced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003). Franklin was remanded in custody. Judge Kamran Choudhry told her there is a “high possibility” of a jail sentence when she appears for sentencing on 1 October.