TEACHER MARK CHRISTOPHER BLACKIE SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN YORK FOR ABUSE
A teacher accused of sexually abusing pupils at his school has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.Mark Christopher Blackie’s actions led one girl to overdose and self-harm, York Crown Court was told.
Blackie took a girl alone into a secluded area within the school and committed a serious sexual offence, including attempts to rape her and other forms of abuse, a jury heard.
In her personal statement, the girl revealed the lasting impact of the abuse: "When I close my eyes, I see him, hear him and smell him.
I just want to get in the bath and scrub it away.
My skin crawls." She was one of five girls whom Blackie, who aspired to become head of a department, used for his sexual gratification.
The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, addressed Blackie directly, saying, "Nobody knew that inside that good teacher there lurked a darker side, a physical liking for young adolescent girls and you indulged yourself." He added that Blackie, a resident of Skipton, had employed emotional blackmail to prevent the first girl from revealing what had happened and had abandoned all decorum during the abuse.
Some of the girls were vulnerable due to their emotional state when they were abused.
Two of the victims were present in court to hear the judge describe all five as intelligent, brave young girls who gave compelling evidence against him.
The judge emphasized that they knew right from wrong, unlike Blackie.
The court heard that Blackie, 32, from Park Lane, East Lutton near Malton, denied all charges.
He showed no reaction as he was sentenced, which included a 10-year prison term, lifetime ban from teaching or working with children, placement on the sex offenders' register for life, and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Blackie had recently broken down in the dock as the jury convicted him of attempted rape, serious sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and seven counts of sexual assault after an 11-day trial.
The court was unable to report the trial earlier because the jury was unaware of additional sexual allegations made against him by another girl many years prior.
After his conviction, the prosecution requested those charges to be held on file, meaning they would remain on his criminal record but are not convictions.
Robin Frieze, representing Blackie, acknowledged there was little he could say in mitigation, stating, "It is obviously completely his own fault he has thrown away the career that he had." The judge praised Detective Constable Beverley Garbutt of North Yorkshire Police for her exemplary work in gathering the evidence against Blackie.
