A paedophile who sexually abused two boys at a boarding school in the Cotswolds 50 years ago has been jailed for nearly five years.
Paul Boulton-Lea, of Acreman Street, Sherborne, Dorset, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court.
The 70-year-old denied two counts of indecent assault on a male person and indecency with a child under 14 years.
The charges are in relation to a former pupil at Kingham Hill School, a boarding school near Chipping Norton which educates pupils aged 11 to 18, between 1974 and 1975.
The offences were said to have happened on at least 10 occasions when the defendant was in his late teens.
A jury previously heard that Boulton-Lea worked as an assistant house master and was aged in his late teens at the time of the offences.
On December 5, a jury returned guilty verdicts by a majority on one count of indecent assault on a male person and indecency with a child under 14 years.
They previously found him guilty of the other count of indecent assault on a male person by a unanimous verdict.
READ MORE: Oxford rapist 'brought to justice' after fleeing to Iraq
Boulton-Lea was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison on Friday, January 16.
During the trial Brian Reece, prosecuting, said: "The prosecution say the defendant is someone who has lived with a dark secret and convinced that he would never be held accountable for what he did.
"Nobody in his circle of friends is going to suspect he did these awful things, how could they? Nobody else knew.
"There is nothing to suggest that either of them (the two complainants) told anything but the truth.
"His sexual urges trumped his fear of getting caught. He was confident he would get away with it."
He added: "This was a deliberate and obvious deceit."
During the sentencing Colin McCarraher, mitigating, said: "There are a number of reference which point to how Paul Boulton-Lea lived his life.
"He has made a significant contribution to our society. He isn't accustomed to violence.
"Prison is going to be very hard for him. I can't remember the last time I represented a man who walked into a court to be sent to prison which a silk handkerchief in his pocket.
"He is very naive."
Judge Maria Lamb said: "These offences were committed in the presence of others in abuse of trust. You were in your late teens at the time. You are now 70.
"Immediate custody will bite hard here. There is overwhelming character evidence in your support.
"You have moved on in your life, but it's clear to me that they have not.
"The harm you caused cannot be measured in years."
As well as his prison sentence, Boulton-Lea was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements.
Share