A former school teacher has been jailed for 18 months for indecently assaulting a teenage boy during the 1980s after plying him with alcohol and cigarettes.

David Gutteridge was sentenced on Wednesday at Harrow Crown Court after earlier being found guilty by a jury of two counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16.

During his trial, the jury were told how he made the boy watch pornographic films before abusing him.

Gutteridge, 60, formerly of the High Street, Chatham, was convicted following a retrial.

The jury heard how at the time of the offences, he was a teacher at Orley Farm Preparatory School in Harrow, north west London.

Gutteridge would invite the boy to his flat at weekends when he was aged between 14 and 16 in the 1980s.

The abuse came to light when the victim, now in his late 30s, confided in his wife and decided to contact police.

Gutteridge was arrested in September 2013 at his home in Chatham and subsequently charged with the two counts of indecent assault.

"The victim has stated that the abuse has had a significant detrimental effect on his life due to what happened to him in his formative years..." - DC Claire Harrison

DC Claire Harrison, from the Metropolitan Police who led the investigation, said: “The victim has stated that the abuse has had a significant detrimental effect on his life due to what happened to him in his formative years.

“I would like to pay tribute to his courage and strength in coming forward and standing up in court to tell his story.”

Gutteridge’s first trial, which took place in September last year, resulted in a hung jury.

His retrial started at the beginning of last month and he was found guilty on Tuesday, February 24.

Gutteridge had lived in the Medway Towns for several years and joined several organisations, which gave him an air of respectability and authority, and he was also a well known figure in the community.

He was an active member of the Rochester Cathedral congregation and regularly attended evensong.

He was previously a community correspondent for the Medway Messenger and worked for the KM Group’s promotional team on occasions.

He gave talks about Medway’s history for the St Margaret’s Banks Residents’ Association, and was involved in at least one Partners and Community Together group in the area.

He has been listed as the deputy governor of the Hospital of Sir John Hawkins, Knight, in Chatham, which are almshouses owned by the Royal Naval Association.