From Strangers to Allies in Justice
In November 2019, Nicola Bannon and Lynne Darcy were strangers. Six years later, they believe their efforts contributed to bringing a paedophile to justice.
Alongside four other women, they pursued legal action against their former history teacher, William Lloyd-Lavery.
Lloyd-Lavery, aged 77, from Richmond Avenue in Lisburn, was convicted in January of six counts of indecent assault involving four girls aged between 13 and 14. He received a two-year prison sentence.
The former grammar school teacher and political press officer taught at Richmond Lodge school in Belfast during the 1970s.
Nicola Bannon’s Testimony
During the trial, Nicola Bannon described her assault, stating she was "hunted like prey" by a man seeking "his own sexual gratification."
She recounted how Lloyd-Lavery instructed her to follow him into a small stationery room under the pretense of searching for a book, where he then lifted her up with a "vice-like grip."
"My bottom was right in his face. It was really degrading and humiliating."
As she was lowered, her skirt rose, and Lloyd-Lavery "put his hands inside my underwear."
Background: Previous Acquittal
Bannon was the first former Richmond Lodge pupil to report Lloyd-Lavery to the police. She came forward in 2019 after seeing a news report about his acquittal on 13 sex offence charges involving a boy from the 1980s.
"I went to the police because I'd always promised myself that if I ever heard that he touched another child again, that I would come forward straight away,"she said.
Following her police report, she joined a Facebook group for former Richmond Lodge pupils and posted a message stating she had consulted child abuse experts at the PSNI, encouraging others to report any abuse by Lloyd-Lavery.
By the end of that day, six women who would later pursue the case against him had contacted her.
At the January 2026 trial, Lloyd-Lavery was found guilty of indecently assaulting four schoolgirls aged 13 to 14 between 1974 and 1979.
Lynne Darcy’s Account
One of the victims, Lynne Darcy, who waived her right to anonymity alongside Bannon, testified about an incident where Lloyd-Lavery summoned her to discuss a history test.
He assaulted her in the same storeroom where Bannon was abused.
During the trial, she recalled a question he asked her at that time, words that remain etched in her memory.
"I lost my innocence that day because a person in authority overstepped the mark and lost all my trust."
Darcy noted that Lloyd-Lavery showed no remorse during the trial.
"He didn't think he was guilty at all. Didn't have the grace to give us that. He thought we were fantasists, that it was the Me Too movement that we'd all got together and planned this on Facebook. We didn't even know each other before."
Both women described the guilty verdict as "fantastic" and recalled feeling euphoric.
Controversy Over Character References
However, both women found it difficult to hear the character references presented to the court before sentencing.
David Campbell, a founder of the Loyalist Communities Council and former Ulster Unionist Party chair, provided a reference.
When questioned by NI about his decision, Campbell said he gave "a brief, factual reference" based on "my knowledge of him for over thirty years, and my fear that a custodial sentence could result in his death or a serious stroke."
Regarding Lloyd-Lavery's victims, he stated,
"It was never my intention to add to their hurt."
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Campbell explained he sought to ask the court for "a minimum sentence, rather than a maximum sentence," noting that "the scale of the offences weren't dramatically huge."
Bannon and Darcy described these comments as incredulous.
Darcy said,
"I would have thought any abuse or assault towards a child is a huge matter."
Bannon questioned how Campbell could understand the impact on victims,
"He's not a young teenage girl who's been sexually assaulted, so how would he possibly be able to make a comment?"
When NI presented these remarks to Campbell, he said he had not seen the Belfast Telegraph publication but firmly rejected any suggestion that he sought to minimize the hurt or abuse inflicted on children.
"The abuse, or attempted abuse, of any child is completely unacceptable and abhorrent."
Encouragement to Victims
Bannon and Darcy urge anyone who has experienced abuse to come forward.
Referring to the previous acquittal, Darcy expressed hope that the man who initiated that case has found some closure.
"He's the instigator of it all. He started it all and we finished it."
Bannon expressed no regrets about reporting her abuse.
"Get that burden lifted off you, whether it's shame or anger. It's not your shame to carry. It's not your anger to carry."
For those affected by issues raised in this article, support is available through the BBC Action Line.
