William Lloyd-Lavery: Former teacher jailed for sexual assault of pupils in 1970s
A former teacher has been jailed for indecently assaulting pupils in the 1970s.
William Lloyd-Lavery, aged 77, who was the principal of Lurgan Technical College from 1992-97, was handed a two-year sentence at Belfast Crown Court for six counts of indecent assault of a child.
The sentencing comes after the pensioner – of Richmond Avenue in Lisburn – was found guilty in January of indecently assaulting four girls, all aged around 13 years old, from 1976-78.
The offences relate to when he taught at an all-girls school in south Belfast.
Lloyd-Lavery attended a police station voluntarily and was interviewed for all offences in November 2022, denying all. He was later reported to the Public Prosecution Service and then found guilty on January 23, 2026.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Kelly Foley described Lloyd-Lavery as “an opportunist”, who used his position of power and trust within the school environment to prey on young girls.
"He thought for a long time he had got away with this, today has proven that the passage of time has no bearing on a criminal justice outcome,” Insp Foley said.
"I want to thank the bravery of the victims in coming forward.
"We have seen an increase in reports of non-recent child abuse over the last five years, with an average of 76 new referrals of this type each month across the province.
"Sentencings like today, I hope, will provide those who have suffered with the confidence to break the years of silence they have endured.
"Let this serve as another warning to those perpetrating child sexual abuse in our communities, we are working every day to break down reporting barriers and encourage victims to come forward. Our specialist officers are working day and night to relentless pursue offenders and bring them to justice."
Several of Lloyd-Lavery’s victims have spoken out to encourage other victims of non-recent crimes to come forward.
One woman, now aged 63, said: “It happened 50 years ago, but it may as well have been yesterday.
"That is the reality of non-recent child abuse, it stays with you. It shapes you and, if you let it, the silence will take its toll. I have not let him ruin by life but he has certainly given it a dimension I could do without. A memory that resurfaces now and again to remind me that my bubble of innocence was burst at only 13 years of age.
"Speaking out is hard, but staying silent is harder. Today we got justice against a man who thought he had got away with it.”
Another woman, now 61, said: “Each day, I hid myself within groups of girls when I moved between lessons, for fear of meeting him in the very long corridors and feeling his eyes on me, reliving what he had done. It was like the constant, painful, picking at a scab that never heals and a profound sense of injustice has followed me all my life.
"From the moment that I lifted the phone to the police, I was listened to and believed.
"Special measures are put in place for victims of abuse right from the start, so I felt safe and finally able to unload the toxic burden that I had been carrying for so long.”