A former teacher who raped a teenage pupil and kept indecent photographs of her for nearly four decades has been jailed for 12 years.
Anthony Woolford, 76, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court after being convicted of rape, indecent assault and possessing indecent images. He denied the allegations throughout the trial and claimed he did not know the woman.
Woolford groomed the girl while working as a teacher in the late 1980s, persuading her to engage in sexual activity in classroom cupboards before taking her out at weekends under the pretence of going to church.
Instead, he took her for what was described as “prosecco and prawns” before bringing her to his home, where he abused her and made indecent photographs of her.
The images were found during an investigation in 2018. Five years later, the victim identified herself as the teenager shown in them.
“Finding out that these photos still existed fills me with utter shame,” she said. “The fact that he kept them, that he never destroyed them, means I will now live with a deep and lasting sense of fear and exposure.
“The possibility that they could resurface at any moment is a constant weight I carry.”
The woman said she had come to rely on cigarettes and alcohol as a way of coping with the abuse, after Woolford had originally encouraged her to use them. She said the impact had left her in “a prolonged state of hypervigilance”, with a persistent fear of abandonment and a compulsive need to please others to feel safe.
She also struggled to complete school as a result of the abuse.
Describing Woolford’s denial, she said: “His denial is not just a lie. It is another attempt to erase me, to erase what he did, and to protect himself at any cost.”
She added: “For the first time, I am not carrying this alone. Coming forward has forced me to relive things I never wanted to revisit.
“But I am here because my voice matters. By reporting what he did… I have stood up for the child I once was, and for every child who deserves protection and safety.”
DC Fiona Clare, of Surrey Police, paid tribute to the woman’s courage in coming forward after so many years.
“Her bravery has put Woolford behind bars, and it would not have happened without her,” she said.
She said a pre-sentence report had assessed that the risk posed by Woolford “is unmanageable in the community” and that he is “highly likely to re-offend”.
“So in coming forward the victim-survivor has undoubtedly protected others and prevented potential future offences,” DC Clare said.
