Former teacher jailed for raping a woman in the 1980s

A former teacher who raped his victim and later told her he was suffering from “sexual frustration” has been sentenced to prison.

Michael Leydon, 61, denied raping her in 2014, but prosecutors relied on messages the history teacher sent to his victim.

The former school principal said the arrest of his son Christopher for rape had put him under stress.

Prosecutor James Dunstan said during the trial that the text messages were a “black and white recording” that “contained a confession.”

The married father of three wrote in a text message: “You said last night that I should have stopped the night I took advantage of you against your will – believe me, I wish I had.

“If I had known what I was doing, I would have done it.

“I can’t change what happened or how you must have felt, but I will do everything I can to make it right.”

Another message said he had “done something disgusting due to alcohol, pills and stress,” and another said: “What I did to you was my fault, even if I did it due to a cocktail of alcohol, sexual frustration and depression.”

Leydon, from Worthing in West Sussex, said he was stressed because one of his sons, Christopher Leydon, had been arrested on suspicion of rape.

The son was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017 after being found guilty of sexual offenses against children, including rape.

At the sentencing on Friday, Michael Leydon’s defense attorney Robert Tolhurst said Leydon had previously shown good character and that the incident was an “isolated offense.”

“He respects the jury’s verdict but continues to maintain his innocence,” Tolhurst said.

“It was clearly a terrible, terrible act, but a mistake.”

Leydon, who retired from teaching in 2017, was found guilty of rape by a jury at Worcester Crown Court, but was acquitted of a second rape charge that allegedly took place in the 1980s.

“You lost control of your senses in a single moment. It is difficult to understand why you did this,” Judge Burbidge said, adding that the arrest of Leydon’s son had placed him under “significant distress”.

The judge sentenced Leydon to six years and six months in prison on Friday. Leydon showed no emotion when the verdict was announced.

Detective Constable David Hadley, of West Mercia Police, said: “The sentence reflects the seriousness of this type of crime and I hope it brings some comfort to the victim who showed great courage and strength in reporting the incident to us, throughout the investigation and by giving evidence in court.”

Related topics: Woman appeals sexual harassment by multiple suspects (2017)