Hertfordshire teacher accused of tying boy to bed was ‘trusted’ by his family, jury told
The woman allegedly subjected a boy to “repeated sexual activity” in the 1990s
A trial has heard a teacher, accused of tying a boy she tutored to her bed, blindfolding him, and performing a sex act had been 'trusted' by his family.
Deborah Franklin, 65, who taught at a preparatory school in Hertfordshire, denies eight counts of gross indecency against the boy in the 1990s while he was aged between nine and 12.
Franklin allegedly subjected him to “repeated sexual activity,” taking her clothes off and getting him to touch her, jurors at St Albans Crown Court have heard.
Prosecutors say she performed multiple sexual acts at his house and hers.
Franklin, of Radlett, Hertfordshire, denies this took place, saying she could not remember tutoring the boy.
Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger also said that others had seen her in his bed at his house with “no work being done”.
During his closing argument on Tuesday, Mr Pottinger asked jurors: “Have you heard any real reason for him to make this up?”
Mr Pottinger said that the “world has changed” from when the incidents are alleged to have taken place, adding that people were more “trusting” then.
He said that Franklin was often at the boy’s house, adding: “You know she was trusted because she was up there in the bedroom without an adult.”
The prosecutor told jurors that Franklin was a woman “whose boundaries were just not there”.
Judge Kamran Choudhry, giving his legal directions to the jury, said that prosecutors say the complainant, now in his 40s, has “consistently recounted the substance of the allegations over many years to many people”.
The complainant reported the alleged incidents to police in 2024, the court heard.
The judge said: “(The prosecution) say those disclosures are broadly consistent with the account he now gives.”
He added that the defence’s case is that Franklin’s relationship with the boy was “entirely proper” and not “unusually close and inappropriate”.
The defendant, giving evidence on Monday, told jurors it was “quite common for teachers and parents and children to socially interact”.
The court heard that Franklin had told police during an interview that she could not recall tutoring the boy, but that “little bits have come back” from looking at old photographs and talking with her legal team.
She added: “Things pop into your mind, I’ve had a long time time to think about it.”
Mr Pottinger asked: “Did you in fact remember (the boy) a good deal more than you are admitting to?”
The defendant replied: “No.”
Mr Pottinger asked: “You are choosing, still choosing, not to remember anything that happened in those years aren’t you?”
Franklin replied: “No.”
Defence barrister Aisling Byrnes asked the defendant if there was “any truth” in the allegations that she sexually touched the boy during tutoring sessions.
Franklin replied: “No.”
The defendant told jurors that it would not have been “unusual” to be in a pupil’s bedroom or on their bed while tutoring them.
Mr Pottinger told jurors on Tuesday that Franklin “is not telling you the truth”.
The trial continues.