November 18, 2019 3.14 pm This story is over 52 months old

Former Lincolnshire teacher jailed for sexually abusing children

Seven years in jail

A former North Wales school teacher from Lincolnshire has been jailed for seven years after being convicted of abusing two men when they were children.

Michael Blackburn, 80, was accused of abusing two men when they were children in the 1970s and 1980s, but the victims cannot be identified for legal reasons.

According to the Daily Post, the two victims had not told anyone at the time of the abuse and only made formal complaints to North Wales Police against Blackburn in the past two years.

A report in the North Wales Chronicle claimed the retired IT schoolteacher groped a boy in a classroom at a Gwynedd secondary school in the 1980s and chased his second victim around a pig shed on a farm to fondle him.

Both men also reportedly suffered emotional problems as a result of the abuse, with one saying he was relieved to have been believed.

The trial of Blackburn, of Finch Hatton Close in Ruskington started at Caernarfon Crown Court on Monday, November 11.

He pleaded not guilty to the 10 charges – nine of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency. However, he was found guilty of all charges by the jury.

On Thursday, November 14 Blackburn was sentenced to seven years with licence period extended by a year. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

According to the Daily Post, a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court told Blackburn he would have to serve two thirds of the sentence before being considered for release by the Parole Board.

DC Chris Renshaw at North Wales Police said: “Michael Blackburn subjected his young victims to appalling abuse while in a position of trust and his perverse sexual actions had a devastating impact on their lives well into adulthood.

“Now he has been found guilty and sentenced I hope the victims can move on with their lives knowing that justice has finally been done.”