Teacher jailed for rape blamed ‘drink, tablets and stress’

A FORMER teacher who raped a woman and then texted her blaming “drink, tablets and stress” has been jailed for six years and six months.

Michael Leydon, 61, claimed he was stressed in the run-up to the offence in 2014 after one of his sons, Christopher Leydon, had himself been arrested on suspicion of rape.

The retired history teacher was found guilty of rape and acquitted of a second charge of the same offence at Worcester

Crown Court last month.

The former school governor’s trial was told he had been a teacher at a school in Worcester in the 1980s, and had also taught in Redditch and Hereford. Leydon claimed sex had been consensual, despite sending messages which read: “You said last night that I should have stopped on 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.”

Another message read: “I did something disgusting as a result of drink, tablets and stress.” Leydon’s son Christopher, then aged 28, was jailed for seven years in 2017 after being found guilty of child sex offences, including rape.

His father’s barrister, Robert Tolhurst, urged Judge James Burbidge QC to take into account the ex-teacher’s previous good character and the depression and anxiety he was feeling at the time of the “single, isolated” offence.

Passing sentence on Leydon, formerly of Diglis, Worcester but now of Worthing in West Sussex, Judge Burbidge said: “In a single moment you lost leave of your senses.

“It is difficult to comprehend why you did that.”

Leydon, who took voluntary retirement in 2017, showed no emotion but did query what portion of the term he would have to serve in custody.