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'Salford stallion' Christopher Drake was caught when Valentine surprise for one student was discovered by another
An assistant headteacher who slept with three of his pupils and called himself "the Salford stallion" has been jailed for six years for having sex with girls who were under the age of consent.
Christopher Drake, 29, who taught PE at Hesketh Fletcher Church of England high school in Greater Manchester, was caught when a Valentine's Day surprise for one of his pupils was discovered by another.
The debacle was described as "getting your comeuppance in spectacular fashion," by Judge Timothy Mort as he sentenced Drake at Manchester crown court. The court heard how the 15-year-old had called unexpectedly and found the teacher's flat festooned with rose petals, balloons and bondage equipment intended for the other girl.
Drake, who admitted at an earlier hearing to sexual activity with children by a person in a position of trust, and making and possessing indecent photographs of a child, began two of the relationships when the pupils were 14. He also admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old at the school in Atherton, Greater Manchester.
The court heard that Drake, of Monton in Salford, had sex regularly at the school, in his office and the sports hall, as well as in a pub car park and on a school trip. All had been consensual but many had not involved protection, and none of the victims had known about the others.
The double life ended at a time when Drake's career appeared to be flourishing, with promotion to the temporary assistant headship. Prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said that a "slanging match" erupted when the teenager who stumbled on the Valentine's Day preparations shouted to neighbours and was grabbed by Drake and told to shut up, as she threatened to call police.
Officers arrived shortly afterwards and in the flat they found a set of furry handcuffs, bondage ropes with a sign reading "tied up at the moment", an eye mask with the label "naughty but nice", Viagra tablets and sex toys. They confiscated Drake's mobile phone and found recordings on it of the sex sessions.
Drake admitted 18 offences of sexual activity with a child and was sentenced to three years each, to be served consecutively, in respect of his two younger victims. Concurrent sentences were given for one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, one charge of taking indecent photographs of a child and four counts of possession of indecent photographs of a child.
The judge told him: "The critical factor is the age gap. You were 12 years older than them. That is a considerable age gap. You were a young man, quite immature, but there was a classic breach of trust in having relationships with pupils which you knew you should not be doing."
All three students said that they felt damaged by their connections with Drake, which had caused widespread gossip on social networking sites. The 16-year-old, who was sent texts by Drake calling himself the "Salford stallion", said that she felt "cheated, dirty, worthless and an idiot". The younger victims described problems trusting people and said they felt "embarrassed, naive and stupid".
Mort said: "One hopes with the passage of time that these girls will be able to move on with their lives but this has plainly had an effect." Turning to Drake, he added that in spite of "glowing references" from family and friends, he had abused his trust and taken advantage of the girls rather than helping and teaching them."
The judge said that pre-sentence reports suggested that Drake's confident appearance belied insecurity and low self-esteem. But he did not think that re-offending was likely.
"You have brought teaching into disrepute and your own career is absolutely ruined," he said. "Having had such a spectacular fall from grace, it is right to assume you have learned a very hard lesson. I do not consider you a serious risk of repeating this behaviour. I do not think you are a dangerous offender."
After the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Bill McGreavy fromGreater Manchester police, who led the inquiry, said: "As a teacher, Drake was a role model to young people but he breached the faith placed in him by the school, pupils and their parents in the most appalling way.
"There are no excuses whatsoever for his actions and I hope his victims and their families can move forward with their lives and try and put these events behind them now that he has been sentenced."