A sexual abuse survivor who was raped by her teacher has revealed the harrowing moment she discovered he had kept indecent photos of her for 40 years.
Anthony Woolford, 76, was on Friday sentenced to 12 years behind bars for rape, indecent assault and possession of indecent images – nearly four decades after the offences took place.
The sex attacker was working as a teacher in the late 1980s when he groomed a teenage pupil.
Woolford coaxed his victim into sexual activity in classroom cupboards before he soon began picking her up on the weekends under the guise of taking her to church.
However, the paedophile instead took her out for ‘prosecco and prawns’ and back to his home where he abused the schoolgirl and made indecent photos of her.
These images were discovered in Woolford’s possession in a 2018 investigation and, five years later, the victim identified herself as the teenager in them.
She said: ‘Finding out that these photos still existed fills me with utter shame.
‘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.
Anthony Woolford, 76, was on Friday sentenced to 12 years behind bars for rape, indecent assault, and possession of indecent images
‘The possibility that they could resurface at any moment is a constant weight I carry.’
The victim said she had come to rely on cigarettes and alcohol – originally pushed on her by Woolford – as a coping mechanism for the abuse she had suffered.
This left her in ‘a prolonged state of hypervigilance’ and ‘persistent fear of abandonment, a compulsive need to please others in order to feel safe, and a heightened sensitivity to perceived aggression or conflict’.
She also struggled to finish school due to the abuse.
The paedophile denied the allegations throughout his trial before being sentenced to 12 years in jail at Guildford Crown Court on Friday.
The 76-year-old even tried to claim he didn’t know the woman.
However the victim said the feeling of seeing her abuser face justice all these years later has been cathartic.
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.
‘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, said: ‘I pay tribute to the victim-survivor’s courage in coming forward after so many years of carrying this burden alone.
‘Her bravery has put Woolford behind bars, and it would not have happened without her.
‘The pre-sentencing report 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.’
