A depraved former councillor and prestigious school teacher who repeatedly grabbed pupils’ genitals died of heart failure in prison, a report has found.

Russell Tillson, from Dymchurch, committed several offences across an almost 20-year period in both the classroom and his private residence onsite at Tonbridge School.

He was jailed for five years and eight months for four sex offences in September 2023, but died aged 74 at HMP Littlehey on November 25.

A report into Tilson’s death by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman was released today.

Adrian Usher, from the service, said: “He died of acute left ventricular failure on 25 November 2024 at HMP Littlehey.

“We offer our condolences to Mr Tillson’s family and friends.

“An independent clinical reviewer concluded that the care he received at Littlehey was of a reasonable standard and at least equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community.

“He found that Mr Tillson’s medical records showed that he consistently refused to go to hospital for further assessment and management of his high potassium levels, but he was regularly reviewed by nurses, GPs and a palliative medicine consultant who provided appropriate care.

“The clinical reviewer also found that Mr Tillson had care plans in place for cardiovascular diseases, CKD, and diabetes, but he did not have a plan in place for palliative care.”

The said reviewer made no recommendations to the prison, and Mr Usher said no non-clinical concerns have been raised.

Tilson’s next of kin were contacted to ask if they had any matters they wanted considered, but they did not respond.

At an inquest held on May 23, the coroner concluded that the paedophile died of natural causes.

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.

A judge branded him a "highly manipulative and arrogant man who held a distorted belief in his own self-importance”.

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.”

He taught 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.