Former teacher jailed for indecently assaulting four girls

A former teacher has been jailed for two years for indecently assaulting four girls at a south Belfast school in the 1970s.

William Lloyd-Lavery, 77, of Richmond Avenue in Lisburn, was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault in January.

The girls were about 13 at the time, and the former history teacher from Richmond Lodge School was told his actions were "gross breach of trust".

The judge at Belfast Crown Court also said Lloyd-Lavery's victims were "to be commended for coming forward to expose a paedophile".

During the sentencing hearing, impact statements were read to the court on behalf of the victims, most of whom are now in their 60s.

One of the women said that the abuse had "traumatised her" and even though it had happened 50 years ago, in her experience it still felt "like it was yesterday".

She told the court that at the time she was an "innocent and naive 13 year old and the abuse was harrowing".

Another victim said she had a "loss of innocence that would last to the end of her days".

She criticised Lloyd-Lavery, who had denied the charges before his conviction and continues to do so.

"Right up until his final breath in the witness stand, he was still abusing us," she said.

Another victim told the court the abuse had "changed her" and that she felt "ashamed".

She said she had sleeping problems and had to sleep on a mattress on her parents' bedroom after the abuse.

The woman added: "I have not let Mr Lavery ruin my life by any means but it has certainly given it a dimension I could do without."

A mother of one of the victims told the court that "when you send a child to school, you expect them to be safe".

A prosecution barrister said Lloyd-Lavery had carried out a "campaign against a number of pupils over time" and his actions were a "major breach of trust".

Judge Patrick Lynch KC told the former teacher that he had violated the trust placed in him "in the grossest manner".

He said those who commit these crimes were "never able to rest easy" because "the crime will catch up with them".

The judge added they will be "forever looking over their shoulder in fear that, that day of reckoning will come".

During the trial the court heard from six complainants in the case.

Their allegations ranged from having their bottom grabbed by Lloyd-Lavery in the school corridor to being lifted up and touched on their genitals by the former history teacher.

Richmond Lodge was a girls' grammar school located on the Malone Road in Belfast, but it no longer exists.

In addition to his teaching job at the school, the court heard Lloyd-Lavery went on to work at Stormont.

He was a researcher, speech writer and press officer for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) until his retirement in 2017.

In a statement after the sentencing, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) thanked the victims for their bravery in reporting the abuse.

"This man was an opportunist, using his position of power and trust within the school environment to prey on young girls," said Det Insp Kelly Foley.

"He thought for a long time he had got away with this, today has proven that the passage of time has no bearing on a criminal justice outcome."

She said the PSNI had seen an increase in reports of "non-recent child abuse" over the last five years.

"Sentencings like today, I hope, will provide those who have suffered with the confidence to break the years of silence they have endured," the officer added.

The PSNI statement also included quotes from three of Lloyd-Lavery's victims, all of whom urged others who have been abused to report the perpetrators.

They included Sarah, who is now 63 years of age, who said: "Speaking out is hard, but staying silent is harder.

"Today we got justice against a man who thought he had got away with it."

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said the conviction was made possible by virtue of the victims' courage in coming forward.

"We know this is a daunting and difficult thing to do," said PPS Senior Public Prosecutor Jenny Burns.

She said victims will be "listened to and treated with respect" and the PPS will "pursue a prosecution where the evidence allows us to do so".

During the course of Lloyd-Lavery's trial two counts of gross indecency were withdrawn from the jury on a point of law.

The jury was also directed to find Lloyd-Lavery not guilty of one count of indecent assault, on an evidential basis.