GEOFFREY TURNER JAILED IN MANCHESTER FOR PAST ABUSE CHALLEGING VICTIM'S JOURNEY TOWARD HEALING

In February 2009, a woman who endured abuse at the hands of a paedophile teacher decades earlier opened up about her experience. Geoffrey Turner, 67, a former teacher at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Whalley Range, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at Manchester Crown Court. Turner, of Davey Lane, Alderley Edge, was convicted on nine counts of indecent assault relating to the victim when she was a young girl. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life and was permanently barred from working with children.

The victim, who was not a pupil at the schools where Turner taught, spoke publicly about her ordeal. She reported the abuse—which spanned over four years—to police in 2005. She explained: “I had to report the crimes. I had buried them, but when I gave birth to my daughter it acted as a trigger. I wanted to be able to look her in the eye and say there are no such things as monsters. I thought the best way to achieve this was to put a monster in prison.”

Expressing her satisfaction with the sentencing, she said: “I’m satisfied with the sentence. He’s 67 so two-and-a-half years is a long time. But whether it was one month or 10 years, it’s irrelevant. No length of sentence could ever give me what he took from me. Nothing could.” She also reflected on the impact of the case: “It’s more that it has been shown that he abused me. He cares about his reputation, what other people think of him—he was a professional and highly respected—and the stigma is perhaps the real punishment.”

She shared her courtroom experience: “I wanted to be in court. You don’t have to be. I was on the stand for a day, and I wanted him to see how what he had done had affected me. I was in tears most of the time.”

She concluded with a sense of closure: “He made me think he loved me, and what he was doing was okay. Seeing him sent down means I can finally put this behind me now.”

Judge Anthony Gee acknowledged Turner’s misconduct, stating, “You groomed her, no doubt for your own sexual gratification.” The judge also noted that Turner had shown no remorse. The abuse began with gestures like kissing the victim and claiming they had a ‘special relationship,’ before escalating.

Following the case, Detective Constable Yanica Weir emphasized the importance of victims coming forward: “The result highlights the importance of victims reporting sex abuse no matter how long after the offences.”