A FORMER Canterbury school master convicted of indecently assaulting three boys at his old school over 20 years ago has been jailed for three years.

Sentencing John Briggs at Canterbury Crown Court, Judge Adele Williams said he had been convicted on compelling evidence.

She said that even after the parents of one of the three boys involved complained to him, Briggs, 66, persisted in his conduct and nobody watching the three victims give evidence in the trial could have any doubt of the effect on them of Briggs’ conduct.

Briggs, now of Hazel Gardens, Sonning Common, Reading, taught at St Edmunds between 1965 until he was sacked in 1980 after complaints. He had taken the three victims, then aged between 10 and 13 into his bedroom and after telling them he thought they were constipated, told them to drop their lower clothing and gave them suppositories.

He left each boy for about 10 minutes then watched as they defecated into a chamber pot. Giving evidence Briggs denied this.

Briggs later said in a letter to the school that he saw nothing wrong in this treatment of the boys. It had been done to him by his nanny when he was a boy suffering from childhood ailments, and believed the boys were constipated although they said they were not.

After leaving St Edmunds, where he was housemaster for School House, which catered for the junior boarders, he took a post at another school in Maidenhead where he worked teaching English for 22 years.

The headmaster from that school gave evidence on Briggs’ behalf and Judge Williams said she accepted Briggs had been a devoted and talented teacher for more 40 years.

She also accepted the conviction and inevitable prison sentence would be devastating for Briggs but said he had committed the offences to satisfy his own perverted sexual motive.

Briggs will be on the sex offenders' register for life and was similarly disqualified from working with children.

Eloise Marshall, for Briggs, said since leaving St Edmunds he had led a blameless 22 years and had always absented himself from any circumstances which could in any way have been considered improper.

Briggs was deeply concerned about the effect of his conviction on those around him. “He will not cope well with a prison sentence and I ask the court to keep it to the absolute minimum,” said Miss Marshall.

Briggs had originally denied 10 indecent assault allegations but during the trial the number of offences was consolidated to four committed between 1976 and 1980. He was convicted on all four unanimously.