Atkinson, a former deputy head at Ripon Cathedral Choir school has been jailed for 12 years
A peadophile has been jailed for 12 years for abusing children while deputy head of a cathedral choir school.
Ian Atkinson, now 59, was convicted of nine offences against two boys under 14 at two boarding schools.
Atkinson sexually abused one boy while a history teacher and boarding master at Ripon Cathedral Choir School, North Yorkshire, in the early 2000s.
Ripon Cathedral Choir School closed in 2012.
A police inquiry also revealed Atkinson had committed similar offences against another boy whilst teaching at another boarding school in Hampshire in the early 1990s.
He was also convicted of downloading indecent images of children.
Judge David Hatton QC said Atkinson had committed the abuse on the pretext of providing ‘therapy’ to the boys which was in reality something for Atkinson’s own ‘perverted self-gratification.’
He continued: ‘The boys trusted you. You gained their respect. You were in a position of authority.
‘You cynically abused that trust with frequency and behind a facade of respectability.’
He added that Atkinson had brought disgrace on the teaching profession.
Atkinson was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
The disgraced master was found guilty of nine offences following a six-day trial at Bradford Crown Court.
They included six charges of indecent assault on a boy, one charge of inciting a boy to commit an act of gross indecency, and two child pornography offences.
The child sex offences were committed in the 1990s and 2000s and the indecent images were discovered in 2015 on Atkinson’s laptop following his arrest.
Atkinson, 59, was convicted of nine offences against two boys under 14 at two boarding schools – he is the second teacher in three months from Ripon Cathedral School (pictured) to be jailed
Atkinson of Brompton on Regis, Somerset, and formerly of Staveley, Ripon is the second former teacher from Ripon Cathedral Choir School to be convicted of abuse.
Robin Davidson, 81, from Worcester, admitted four charges of indecent assault on two boys under 14 in the 1970s at York Crown Court in October 2017 and was jailed for two years.
Det Con Fiona Ayre of North Yorkshire Police, said: ‘Appallingly, Atkinson used his position of trust to abuse young boys for his own sexual gratification and the sentence reflects the serious and protracted nature of his offending.
‘I praise the victims for having the courage to relive their ordeals in court and I hope the outcome can help them to move forward.
‘I would reassure any victim of such offences that if they should not hesitate in coming forward to the police.
‘It doesn’t matter when the abuse happened, whether it’s happening now or occurred 50 years ago.
‘Even if it is not possible to put an offender before the courts, it’s important that you are offered the support and advice that is available.
‘Your information could also help to protect other victims and help the police form a wider picture of offending.
‘We appreciate that telling the police what has happened takes courage. It is not easy reliving such distressing situations.
‘Child sexual abuse is a foremost priority for the police and all reports will be fully investigated. Please do not suffer alone, if you have been abused, please report it.’