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Jeremy Forrest trial: Teacher 'feared girl was suicidal' | Jeremy Forrest trial: Teacher 'feared girl was suicidal' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A schoolgirl has told a court her married maths teacher travelled with her to France because he feared she might commit suicide. | |
The girl was 15 when she started a sexual relationship with 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest after developing a crush on him at school in East Sussex. | The girl was 15 when she started a sexual relationship with 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest after developing a crush on him at school in East Sussex. |
Mr Forrest booked them on a Channel ferry on 20 September before they spent seven days on the run in France. | Mr Forrest booked them on a Channel ferry on 20 September before they spent seven days on the run in France. |
He has denied a charge of child abduction at Lewes Crown Court. | He has denied a charge of child abduction at Lewes Crown Court. |
The girl, now 16, said she had been experiencing personal problems in the months leading up to the relationship with Mr Forrest, a teacher at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne. | The girl, now 16, said she had been experiencing personal problems in the months leading up to the relationship with Mr Forrest, a teacher at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne. |
They included her mother going through a divorce and then finding a new partner and becoming pregnant. | |
The court heard the pair agreed to go to France after the girl had her phone seized by police investigating rumours of a relationship between them. | The court heard the pair agreed to go to France after the girl had her phone seized by police investigating rumours of a relationship between them. |
'I was desperate' | |
The girl said she planned to run away but Mr Forrest agreed to go with her to prevent her from getting into danger. | The girl said she planned to run away but Mr Forrest agreed to go with her to prevent her from getting into danger. |
"He tried to persuade me not to run away," she said. | "He tried to persuade me not to run away," she said. |
"I said I was going and nobody was going to stop me. I was very determined and once I had an idea in my head nobody was going to stop me, not Jeremy, not anybody." | "I said I was going and nobody was going to stop me. I was very determined and once I had an idea in my head nobody was going to stop me, not Jeremy, not anybody." |
Describing her mood at the time, she said: "I felt very low indeed, I didn't know what to do, I was very desperate." | Describing her mood at the time, she said: "I felt very low indeed, I didn't know what to do, I was very desperate." |
When asked if she felt suicidal, the girl, who chose to give her evidence in court rather than by videolink, said: "Yes". | When asked if she felt suicidal, the girl, who chose to give her evidence in court rather than by videolink, said: "Yes". |
'Manipulated by police' | |
The girl told the court that Mr Forrest repeatedly asked her to return home but she refused. | |
"Numerous times on the way to France he would say he would give me the money so I could go home, but I didn't want to go home." | |
The girl said Mr Forrest was in tears as they drove. | |
She said she felt she had to run away because she did not want her mother to find out about a previous relationship as well as other personal issues she had been going through. | |
Speaking of her relationship with her mother, she said: "I didn't get on with her very well, I didn't like her, she wasn't supportive. | |
"When there's a divorce going on, the attention in the family is on the parents, not the children." | |
She said she also felt that her mother might throw her out of home. | |
The girl said she started to develop a crush on Mr Forrest after he helped her with her personal problems. | |
She said she began to confide in him during a school trip to Los Angeles in February 2012 and that after he began to give her advice and support, her attendance and grades at school had improved. | |
The girl said she had previously fallen in with a bad crowd with whom she would take drugs and get into trouble. | |
She said that on the way home from LA she had held hands with Mr Forrest because she was having an anxiety attack because of her fear of flying. | |
"It wasn't hand-holding, it was squeezing hands. It wasn't affectionate, it was more caring." | |
The girl said she felt manipulated by the police after she was brought back to England from France. | |
She said she felt "if I didn't comply with what they (the police) were doing, I faced arrest". | |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |