William Lloyd Lavery, a former teacher from a prestigious Belfast grammar school, has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually assaulting four children at that school in the 1970s.
The disgraced teacher, was head of the history department at Richmond Lodge College in Belfast.
Following a two week trial at Laganside Crown Court, Lloyd Lavery was found guilty of six offences of indecent assault involving four students between 1974 and 1979. He had denied all charges, including after his conviction.
In court, a prosecution barrister said that it was a "classic breach of trust case" involving the relationship between a teacher and a pupil, while adding: "That's of the upmost seriousness in terms of aggravating factors".
In court, it was revealed that one victim felt like she had been "hunted like prey" through her own school by a teacher for his own sordid sexual gratification.
The court was told how Lloyd Lavery had sexually assaulted one student while he asked her to help him to get a book from a store cupboard.
Another child had reportedly told her mother what was happening when she was 13 years old, and they even reported Lloyd Lavery's behaviour. The student's mother told the court that the school did nothing about it.
Impact statements were also provided on behalf of three of the victims, with parts of them read out in court.
One statement referred to Lolyd Lavery's repeated denials of these accusations.
"If anything gives an insight into his way of thinking, it’s this", one statement read. "Right up to his very last breath on the witness stand he was abusing us".
"I have never let William Lloyd Lavery ruin my life by any means, but he has certainly given it a dimension I could do without", one wrote.
Judge Patrick Lynch said the former teacher had betrayed the trust placed in him in the "grossest manner".
He added that the case should warn anyone who has caused harm to children that their crime "would catch up with them decades after" and that they would spend the rest of their lives "looking over their shoulders in fear of that day of reckoning coming".
Following the conviction, one of the students said that she felt "justice had been served" for all of William Lloyd Lavery's victims.
"Society is waking up now to the seriousness of abuse", she added. "People are more educated and aware of the difficulties that victims find in coming forward".
"It's now time for institutions to stand up in solidarity with the victims instead of hiding things and brushing them under the rug".
Upon leaving Richmond College, Lloyd Lavery taught at Lurgan Community College, before becoming deputy director of a higher education institute.
He also worked in politics, having been a political advisor to several Ulster Unionist MLAs at Stormont, where he did research and wrote speeches.
Outside court, Detective Inspector Kelly Foley, the PSNI officer in charge of the investigation, praised the women for their bravery in coming forward.
"This man was an opportunist, using his position of power and trust within the school environment to prey on young girls. 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.
"I want to thank the bravery of the victims in coming forward. We have seen an increase in reports of non-recent child abuse over the last five years, with an average of 76 new referrals of this type each month across the province. Sentencings like today, I hope, will provide those who have suffered with the confidence to break the years of silence they have endured".
"Let this serve as another warning to those perpetrating child sexual abuse in our communities, we are working every day to break down reporting barriers and encourage victims to come forward. Our specialist officers are working day and night to relentless pursue offenders and bring them to justice".
The two year prison sentence passed down to Mr Lloyd Lavery was welcomed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Jenny Burns, Senior Public Prosecutor, also praised the women in coming forward.
"The victims made this conviction possible by virtue of their courage in coming forward. We know this is a daunting and difficult thing to do", she said. "This offender targeted young girls in school. They should have been safe in his care, instead he exploited his position to indecently assault them".
