In Britain, previously renowned headteacher Anne Lakey (55) has been jailed for eight years for having underage sex with two boys in the 1980s.

The teacher, who was once celebrated for her "visionary leadership", had sex with the schoolchildren - aged 13 and 15 - over a three-year-period, a jury found on Tuesday.

One of her victims described her in court as a "disgusting sexual monster".

Her glittering career, which saw her become a national leader in education, came to an abrupt halt in 2012 after her younger victim wrote an e-mail to her school outlining the abuse that he and the second child had suffered 25 years earlier.

Now a father himself, he said he was "sickened" by Lakey's claims that she always put the interests of young people first.

His e-mail led to her suspension as chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools - but as police began to investigate, Lakey called the victim and tried to persuade him to lie to detectives.

The complainant told the trial at Teeside Crown Court: "The delivery was like A-Level psychology 101. There was the initial 'my poor father, lost my mother' - a trump card to play."

"There was 'my career, my daughter, my husband. I've definitely not had sex with any other children since' was mentioned early on."

"It was laid on thick, emotionally at the start, towards the end there was flattery alongside that."

"You corrupted two boys about half your age"

The victim had described how Lakey, who was a history and RE teacher at the time, took his virginity when he was 13. He told police that they then repeatedly had sex in her marital bed.

At one point, the teenager had to hide in a cupboard when they were almost caught in bed together. When he tried to break off their relations, the pupil had to force his way out of Lakey's home.

She tearfully denied all the allegations but admitted having a legal, sexual relationship with the older complainant when he was 18 and she was in her early 30s.

Judge Howard Crowson told Lakey that during her career she had been "an inspirational teacher and leader of schools," but, in the 1980s, the judge told her: "You corrupted two boys about half your age. They were naive and immature."

"It will destroy the career you have worked so hard to build."

Lakey, a mother-of-one who married three times, from Stanley, County Durham, was called "visionary" by the Government and described as "inspiring" by Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of education, after her school Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston, went from "failing" to "outstanding".