A FORMER music teacher who was jailed for 13 years for a string of sex attacks has had a bid to overturn his sentence kicked out by top judges.

Owen Barclay, who worked at Thorpe Bay School, now known as Futures College, was convicted of three counts of rape, attempted rape and unlawful sexual activity at Basildon Crown Court in February last year.

The 40-year-old was already serving a five-year sentence for two counts of rape against another woman at the time.

Barclay took his case to London’s Criminal Appeal Court, where he argued that his previous convictions had prejudiced the jury.

After his original trial, Barclay was criticised by police for attempting to destroy his victim’s reputation.

At the time, Det Con Carol Sartain, from the sexual offences investigation team, said: “Owen Barclay constantly tried to evade questioning and apportion blame elsewhere.

“He maintained his innocence despite three crown court trials and has repeatedly attempted to distract the focus of the investigation with multiple complaints and by trying to discredit witnesses.

“He has presented himself throughout as a man of good character, a former teacher with strong ties to the community and his church.

“He fails to accept he has done anything wrong in abusing his victims in this way, which is what makes him such a dangerous man.”

Three senior appeal judges refused Barclay’s appeal, agreeing his original sentence was correct.

Barclay was convicted of abusing two women between 2004 and 2013, but police fear there could have been more victims.

He was charged with the offences in May 2013 and faced two separate trials.

After the first, he was found guilty of raping a woman in Southend twice between October 2012 and April 2013 and was sentenced to five years for each of the rapes, to run concurrently.

However, a jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial relating to the second victim, prompting a retrial during which he called his victim a liar and a prostitute.

Barclay also suggested she had made previous allegations against another man which were completely unfounded.

He received a total of 13 years for the three counts of rape, ten for attempted rape and two years for unlawful sexual intercourse, all to run concurrently.