Disgraced head Anne Lakey weeps as she is jailed for eight years for underage sex with two schoolboys

• Victims tell of lasting damage
• There could be more - police
• Problems far from over for school

The 55-year-old - once lauded as a "super-head" for her work in County Durham - wept in the dock at Teesside Crown Court.

She was branded a sexual predator by prosecutors during a two-week trial which came to an end with guilty verdicts yesterday.

Judge Howard Crowson described the three-times-married mother as a person with two very different sides to her.

Lakey, from Stanley, County Durham, was convicted of 13 charges of indecent assault against a lad of 15 and one aged 13 or 14.

Anne Lakey, left, arrives at Teesside Crown Court for sentencing accompanied by her daughter Elanor Lakey

Her glittering 30-year career in education is now in tatters, and she will have to sign on the sex offenders' register for life.

Lakey was suspended from her role as chief executive of the Durham Federation of schools after the allegations came to light.

The younger victim sent an accusing email in December 2012 in which he described the former RE teacher as a "disgusting sexual monster".

She was a national leader in education and an Ofsted inspector as well as being in charge of two schools in County Durham.

She won national acclaim for improving exam performance at her schools, but her respectable professional persona hid a sordid past.

The court heard how she seduced one lad in his school uniform when he was aged 13 or 14 after letting him watch her bathe.

She encouraged another boy aged 15 to sneak into her tent during a camp and she took his virginity too, said prosecutor Caroline Goodwin.

Lakey, who was a history and RE teacher in Sunderland at the time of the allegations, denied all the allegations throughout.

She did admit having a sexual relationship with the older accuser, but said it was when he was 18 and she was in her early 30s.

But she vehemently denied having intercourse with the younger lad, and said she was "devastated" when he made the allegations.

It can now be reported that she was tried last year at Durham Crown Court charged in connection with his younger man's allegations.

Fred Westwater, the father of Anne Lakey, arrives at Teesside Crown Court 

The jury was eventually discharged after failing to reach verdicts, and a new trial was arranged - with the second complainant added.

The jury at Teesside took almost 12 hours spread across three days to reach its 10-2 majority verdicts on all the charges.

Mother-of-one Lakey, of Oxhill Villas, Stanley, was said by her barrister, Tim Roberts, QC, to be in remission from breast cancer.

He said he was unable to put too much mitigation before the court because Lakey still maintains her innocence.

Speaking after the case, John Dilworth, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “I would like to praise the bravery of the two victims in this case, who have been instrumental in helping us to build a robust case against Anne Lakey.

“Mrs Lakey manipulated the youthful naivety of both of these young men for her own sexual gratification. By persisting with her denial of guilt throughout both the investigation and prosecution of this case, she has prolonged the process for both victims.

“I appreciate that this outcome will involve mixed emotions for the two victims of Mrs Lakey’s actions but I would hope that the sentence passed upon her today brings a measure of closure for both of them.

“I hope that this case provides further reassurance to anyone who has been a victim of sexual offences, no matter how much time may have passed, that police and prosecutors will continue to work together to bring those responsible to justice.”