A depraved former councillor and teacher at a prestigious school who repeatedly grabbed pupils’ genitals has died in prison.

Russell Tillson, from Dymchurch, committed offences across almost 20 years while employed at Tonbridge School, in both the classroom and in a private residence he held on-site.

A jury last year heard he offered teenagers alcohol and grabbed their genitalia then, when confronted, did not show a “scintilla of regret, shame or remorse”.

He was jailed for five years and eight months last September after being found guilty of four sex offences.

But KentOnline has learned he died at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire – a Category C prison for sex offenders – two weeks ago on November 25.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman confirmed his death but could not provide further details as an investigation is underway.

A full report will be published after the probe has concluded, a spokesman said.

The former economics teacher groomed two youngsters at the public school for his sexual pleasure.

And when confronted by one of his brave victims the paedophile "just smiled and laughed and didn't show a scintilla of regret, shame or remorse” his trial heard.

Tillson, of Ship Close, was convicted aged 73 on four of six indecent assault offences dating back many years.

On September 1, 2023, he was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to five years and eight months, with a judge branding him a "highly manipulative and arrogant man who held a distortive belief in his own self-importance”.

Tillson was also also handed a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

During the trial, jurors heard allegations against Tillson were first aired in 1984 but reported to Kent Police in 2018.

The court heard he offered teenagers alcohol and sexually assaulted pupils in a very similar manner, namely he grabbed their genitalia.

Giving evidence, one victim told the jury: “His signature was to put his hands down the front of my trousers and grab my genitals and squeeze so hard it hurt. He must have grabbed my arms so I couldn't pull away.

"I disliked him, pretty intensely. I thought he was a nasty bit of work … a dangerous character.”

Tillson occupied a senior role and any decisions he made could have a significant influence on pupils’ future educational aspirations.

He exploited this influence to make advances on victims, including one incident when a boy was offered an enhanced university reference, that Tillson suggested could be achieved by ‘unconventional methods.’

Tillson was arrested in October 2020 and during police interviews denied all allegations put to him, dismissing them as ‘fiction’.

He taught economics at the school between 1980 and 2001 and was also head of the sixth form.

Tillson later served as a deputy leader of Shepway District Council and chairman of Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association.

He also sat on New Romney Town Council and Dymchurch Parish Council.