Description
A manipulative and controlling paedophile maths teacher subjected two female pupils to a shocking catalogue of sexual abuse.
Pervert Tobias Yates' vile offending saw him groom the teenagers and engage in sexual activity with them in the classroom at Chellaston Academy, where he worked for eight years.
Both victims showed incredible bravery to stand up at Derby Crown Court, face their abuser and tell the hearing of the devastating effect his crimes have had on them.
His actions left one of them feeling betrayed and broken while the other said I truly believed he loved me and it was okay, but it was not okay as I was a child and he was a paedophile.
A catalogue of perversion
The court heard that the 31-year-old father-of one, from Stenson Fields, had:
- Filmed himself having sex with one of the victims.
- Exchanged 250,000 messages with one of the teens.
- Demanded they both send him explicit photographs to him, including one of them dressed in her school uniform.
- Kept sex toys in his desk at the Swarkestone Road school.
- Touched one of the girls sexually at the back of class while a trainee teacher taught the other pupils in the same room.
- Collected one of the girls from her home and made her hide in the footwell of his car to make sure no-one saw them together before driving her to his home for sex.
- Gave one victim with childrens underwear for much younger girls which had cartoon characters on them.
- Made one of the girls call him Daddy and Sir to satisfy his warped fetish.
Yates, of Merevale Way, Stenson Fields, stared intently forward during the hearing, refusing to glance at the victims or their family members who sat in the packed public gallery.
When he arrived in the dock from custody into courtroom four, one of them even bravely moved seats to get a better view of her abuser.
In her victim impact statement she said: I have lost my carefree childhood.
It started in the classroom a place where I should have been safe.
I truly believed he loved me and it was okay.
But it was not okay because I was a child and he was a paedophile.
Reading out her statement, the second girl said: I feel completely betrayed and broken.
I lost two stone in weight and hours of sleep because of nightmares.
I feel disgusted with myself and I have a fairly negative view of myself.
It all happened during my GCSEs and I think about what my results would have been if I had the chance to focus instead of being consumed by him.
'Manipulative and depraved'
Jailing Yates for 10 years and six months, Judge Robert Egbuna told him his behaviour was manipulative and depraved.
He said: They had come to you to seek help at a vulnerable time in their lives and you robbed both children of their innocence.
You portrayed yourself as a friend and companion but preyed on them time and time again.
You are an astute man that had an armoury which you used to abuse and groom their frailties.
And you made these girls feel they were to blame for your behaviour.
You knew what you were doing was wrong, you knew they were vulnerable and you simply did not care.
'Protracted grooming'
Jonathan Straw, prosecuting, said Yates worked as a maths teacher and form tutor at Chellaston Academy for eight years when the first allegations were made known to the police.
He said the publicity from that saw the second victim come forward to describe what happened to her.
Mr Straw said: This was the sexual abuse of two young, vulnerable girls, each of whom was the subject of protracted grooming, manipulation and extensive control.
He preyed on the innocence of teenage vulnerability and, having gained their trust, he began to control each girl, infiltrating their everyday lives over time expressly for his own sexual gain.
What did he admit?
Yates pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15; sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17 when he was abusing a position of trust; causing or inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17; possessing extreme pornographic images, and making indecent images of a child.
In August last year, he pleaded guilty to inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity while he was in a position of trust.
He also admitted three counts of making indecent photographs of children.
He had two of category A, the most serious type, two of category B and 83 of category C.
James Varley, mitigating, said: He was an adult who abused the trust of two young girls and we have heard the impact that has on them today.
In a letter, Mr Yates apologises for what he has done and he has come to realise the damage he has caused.
As unpleasant and disturbing as case this is, he is not going to be in this kind of position again.
The identities of both victims are protected by law.
A statement from Chellaston Academy reads: One of our former members of staff, Toby Yates, contravened all professional teacher standards and has today been sentenced for his actions at Derby Crown Court.
At Chellaston Academy our students safety and well-being is of paramount importance to us and we continue to work with appropriate agencies and the local authority to ensure our safeguarding protocols and procedures are robust.
As well as prison, Yates was handed a sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offenders register for life.