A married female teacher had s£x with a schoolboy after blindfolding him and tying him to a bed, a court heard.
Deborah Franklin, 65, is accused of eight counts of gross indecency with a boy under 14 between 1991 and 1995 at a preparatory school in Hertfordshire, according to AOL.
In a video-recorded interview, the complainant, now in his 40s, said he was nine when he joined Franklin’s class, and she became his private tutor. Holding back tears at times, he said: “Ms Franklin was very gregarious, high energy, much younger… We got on very well, and I remember developing a strong friendship. [There was] a lot of whispering, inside jokes, a lot of learning from her as you would from an older friend.
“She spoke about drugs, cigarettes, s£x… Very adult things I could not get outside of that. I was the perfect candidate. I was interested to know those types of things.”
The complainant said Franklin was “ever present” at his home, and he could still remember her telephone number, but had a ‘distinct memory of something changing’ after winning a bet against her at school.
When the complainant recalled suggesting ‘something childish’ for winning the bet, he said: “She said ‘I’m very surprised that’s what you want’. I said ‘What do you mean?’. She said ‘Because I would have thought you wanted to see me without my clothes on.’ I remember feeling very surprised.”
The complainant said he remembered this “first incident” in the garage of his home, which his older brother had turned into a “den”, with Franklin wearing a “summery” maxi dress and bra.
“She said ‘Do you want to touch me?’, so it began immediately. She kissed me on the lips, and we started to touch.”
On the progression of the alleged incidents, the complainant said: “There was a tonne of manipulation obviously, but at the time it did not present like that. At the time it was like: I am in a relationship. I’m your girlfriend. We have to be cautious.
“I remember her clothes were off, and she was teaching me how to touch a woman, and I remember saying ‘It smells funny,’ and she was getting all defensive, saying ‘That’s how women smell. ‘
“I remember her just telling me what to do, and I would just do it.
“I remember her distinctly calling out her husband’s name, Angelo. It took me by surprise. I never saw their relationship. I thought I had the relationship. I remember thinking I had a competitor.”
The complainant gave police more detail on their “countless” s£xual encounters.
Asked about the first time, the complainant said it happened in Franklin’s in his brother’s bedroom when he was aged as young as 10.
Through tears, he said: “She must have known that’s what that was. That’s kind of a standout memory that I have.”
Describing another encounter, the complainant said: “She asked me to come on the bed. I think it was her marital bed. I remember her tying me. Tying my arms down… She had a feather. Some kind of feathery gloves and fur. She tickled me. I remember being strapped down to the bed and blindfolded.
“I guess I had no clue as to what was happening. I went with it and trusted her. It was mostly sensations around my body. All of my body. She was surprised I didn’t enjoy it. Being bound to the bed it disturbed me in my teenage life when I began to understand what it would have been for her.
“At the time, I don’t think I was terrified. I wasn’t. I don’t remember being scared. But it began to bother me when I was around 14… I was tied to the posts, blindfolded, and she was tickling me naked, and I remember her being surprised I didn’t enjoy it. Her kind of quizzing me why I didn’t enjoy it, what I didn’t like.
He said: “I was there for some hours. I remember us coming back to it later and having s£x on her bed.”
Prosecutor Gavin Pottinger told jurors: “These are all offences, the prosecution say, are of indecency carried out by Deborah Franklin, who was the teacher of the complainant who was aged between nine and 13.
“Police were not contacted until recently, but you will hear the complainant did tell others much closer to the time about these incidents.
“You will hear not only evidence of the complainant’s friends and family, but the nature of the relationship they saw between the complainant and his teacher… and there are photos the complainant has produced.”
The complainant first reported the allegation to police in March 2024 and gave an ABE (achieving best evidence) interview in May this year.
Mr Pottinger said the complainant remembered Franklin being ‘young, energetic, and approachable’ when she became his teacher, and they developed a friendship when she started tutoring him at home.
Franklin, who remains on unconditional bail, left court wearing dark sunglasses and a silk headscarf while carrying a canvas shopping bag.
The teacher, of Radlett, Herts denies eight counts of gross indecency with a boy under 14.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
