Paedo maths teacher preyed on youngsters
Burton, 60, sexually abused boys
A depraved East Kilbride teacher branded “highly manipulative”has been found guilty of sexually abusing two pupils.
Paedophile Ronald Burton, of Allendale in Stewartfield, groomed the schoolboys 20 years apart while teaching maths at two high schools in South Lanarkshire.
The twisted 60-year-old preyed on his victims, lavishing gifts on them – including underwear and gym memberships.
Burton had faced other allegations including claims he raped the second victim on two separate occasions and also tried to hypnotise him, but these charges were dropped by prosecutors.
The now retired ex-assistant principal teacher was finally snared in 2014 after being confronted by his first victim.
The pervert told a jury he had shown “nothing but kindness and affection” to the boys.
But, he was found guilty following a week-long trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
He was convicted of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards the first victim and a charge of sexual assault against the second boy.
Burton got to know the first victim around 1994 when he was in first year.
He later went on to tutor the boy with his maths studies.
Burton told the trial: “I made the judgement that I would try and help him improve.”
Instead he took the opportunity to prey on the youngster.
The victim recalled feeling “very uncomfortable” when Burton used “crude terminology” and asked him to compare penis size with a measuring tape.
During the abuse, Burton drove to a quiet lane before apparently becoming upset.
The witness told the court: “At this point he put his head in his hands. He said I thought just like his mother... she always told him he was a pervert and I must think he is a pervert as well.”
The abuse ended when the boy was around 15.
He told the court: “I ended up thinking I was the one in the wrong.”
Burton later moved schools and eventually turned his attentions to a second boy – aged around 12 – in 2013.
This youngster was similarly preyed upon which included inappropriate touching.
Quizzed about these incidents, the boy said: “He asked and I said I was not