Teacher Zoe Williams and Thomas Surtees jailed for abuse

A primary school teacher and her paedophile boyfriend who filmed themselves sexually abusing a child have been jailed.

Zoe Williams, 30, and Thomas Surtees, 37, were "monsters", their victim's mother told Newcastle Crown Court.

The videos were discovered after Surtees was arrested for sexually assaulting young teenagers.

Surtees admitted 16 offences and was jailed for 15 years. Williams admitted six and was jailed for 10 years.

The court heard videos were found on both Surtees' and Williams' phones, the former also containing sexual images of other children as young as two.

Graphic messages were also found in which Williams encouraged her boyfriend to commit further abuse, the court heard.

Her honour Judge Julie Clemitson said Williams also used her position as a primary school teacher to "titillate" Surtees.

In a statement read to the court, the victim's mother said the couple's actions were "unforgivable", adding they were "not remorseful" but "just sorry they [had] been caught".

Jeremy Barton, representing Surtees, of Bellshill Close in Wallsend, said his client was "really remorseful for the dreadful things he has done".

Lorraine Mustard, for Williams, said her client claimed to have "no sexual interest in children" but had gone along with Surtees' requests.

Ms Mustard said it had been a "rocky" relationship involving domestic abuse and Williams had been "permissive when acting at the behest" of her boyfriend, adding she wanted to "curry favour with him" and not cause "displeasure".

Williams, of The Gables in Widdrington, Northumberland, had been warned by her colleagues that Surtees "appeared to be bad news", Ms Mustard said.

The judge said the couple were "fuelled by drink or drugs" and she found it "very hard to credit" that neither "shared an interest in paedophilia".

While she accepted Williams was "besotted" with her boyfriend of several years, the judge said the teacher "wholeheartedly embraced" Surtees' offending and "even encouraged [him] to escalate his behaviour".

The judge said Williams was an "intelligent young woman" who got a degree in crime investigation and psychology before becoming a teacher.

"With that background you will have understood only too well the harm sexual abuse causes children," the judge told Williams.

She said a pre-sentence report written about Williams said she was "ashamed but lacking any real remorse or empathy".

The judge said Surtees had wanted to be a police officer before becoming a business analyst but fell into cocaine use.

Both admitted multiple offences including sexually assaulting a child aged under 13 and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The judge said she was "satisfied" both were a "danger" and presented a "significant risk of causing serious harm to children" in the future.

Both were told they would be made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and "notification requirements" for the rest of their lives and must serve an extended licence period of five years upon their release from prison.

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