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Jeremy Forrest jailed for pupil abduction and sexual offences Jeremy Forrest jailed for pupil abduction and sexual offences
(about 1 hour later)
A teacher convicted of child abduction for escaping to France with a 15-year-old pupil has been jailed for five and a half years after also separately admitting five counts of sexual activity with a child.A teacher convicted of child abduction for escaping to France with a 15-year-old pupil has been jailed for five and a half years after also separately admitting five counts of sexual activity with a child.
Jeremy Forrest, 30, sparked an international police hunt after he and the teenager spent just over a week on the run in France last September when their relationship was discovered. He faced only the single charge of child abduction during his trial at Lewes crown court.Jeremy Forrest, 30, sparked an international police hunt after he and the teenager spent just over a week on the run in France last September when their relationship was discovered. He faced only the single charge of child abduction during his trial at Lewes crown court.
Although the girl, who cannot be named, told the court that she and the married maths teacher had begun having sex shortly after her 15th birthday, Forrest was not initially charged with sex offences for legal reasons linked to his extradition from France, something which could not previously be reported. On Friday, the judge, Michael Lawson QC, jailed the married maths teacher for four and a half years for the counts of sexual activity with a child and one year for child abduction, to run consecutively. Forrest has spent nine months on remand.
The trial judge, Michael Lawson QC, imposed a jail term of five-and-half years on all the counts. Forrest has already spent nine months on remand. The judge also imposed a sexual offences prevention order permanently banning Forrest from working or volunteering with children or having unsupervised contact with children.
The jury took less than two hours to convict Forrest of abduction. His former pupil, now 16, who has remained loyal to him since his arrest, sat behind him, burying her head in her hands and weeping. Although the girl, who cannot be named, told the court that she and Forrest began having sex shortly after her 15th birthday, he was not initially charged with sex offences for legal reasons linked to his extradition from France, something which could not previously be reported.
The teacher had mouthed "I love you" to the girl as he was brought up to the dock for the verdict on Thursday. Lawson told Forrest that his behaviour had been "motivated by self-interest and has hurt and damaged many people – her family, your family, staff and pupils at the school and respect for teachers everywhere".
Interpol and border forces were placed on alert after the pair disappeared. They were caught in Bordeaux after he had been recognised, by which time the girl's mother had feared she was dead. He added: "It has damaged you too but that was something you were prepared to risk. You now have to pay that price."
Police and prosecutors argued that the teenager was a vulnerable child exploited by a narcissistic abuser. "Jeremy Forrest grossly abused the trust placed in him," Detective Inspector Mark Ling from Sussex police said after the conviction. "His actions caused distress and anxiety among parents, family members and a school community." The trial heard that Forrest had investigated on the internet the possible penalties for having sex with the girl. The judge told him: "It was your duty as a teacher to stop her infatuation, not to fuel it. Your research into what might happen to you if you were caught is proof of the deliberate nature of your behaviour."
In a statement read by police, the girl's mother spoke of the impact of the case: "The last nine months were like living out our worst nightmare. Every aspect of our life has been affected to some degree." Forrest did not give a reaction to the sentence but nodded to his family, who have been in court throughout the trial, as he was taken down to the cells.
Questions remain over whether more could have been done about a relationship that had been simmering for seven months before the pair fled, and was, the court heard, the subject of widespread rumour around Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne, East Sussex. After the sentence Forrest's family said he apologised for what had happened. His mother Julie, brother Tom and sister, Carrie – his father, Jim, collapsed outside the court on Thursday and is recovering – stood outside the court while the teacher's solicitor, Henrietta Ronson, read a statement.
Headteacher Terry Boatwright defended the school, saying that until the September last year there had only been "very limited anecdotal hearsay and no evidence of a relationship. However, even so, everything was investigated following appropriate safeguarding procedures." She said: "This is a sorry episode for all concerned and Jeremy is very sorry for his actions. Despite the verdict and today's sentence, there are many factors in this case which need to be examined and addressed, including the failure to properly act on early warnings. We sincerely hope that these are sensibly looked into and not simply swept under the carpet."
At no time before September, he added, did the evidence reach "the threshold to involve the police formally". The jury took less than two hours to convict Forrest of abduction on Thursday. His former pupil, now 16, sat behind him, burying her head in her hands and weeping.
The Local Safeguarding Children Board in East Sussex has begun a serious case review into the actions of the school, local authority and police. It will investigate whether a wider pattern of poor pastoral care exists at a school that has faced three cases linked to child sex abuse inside four years. The teacher had mouthed "I love you" to the girl as he was brought up to the dock for the verdict.
The trial heard how Forrest began teaching maths to the girl when she was 13. She developed a crush on him, and an apparent turning point came during a school trip to Los Angeles in February 2012, when Forrest publicly comforted the girl, who was experiencing personal difficulties. They started exchanging Twitter messages in the spring, moving to texting for greater privacy as the content became ever more intimate.
During the school summer break, the court was told, with Forrest by then having been married for less than a year, they started having sex, meeting in hotels, in the grounds of a crematorium, or going for drives in his Ford Fiesta.
Jokey talk of running away together became suddenly serious when police seized the girl's mobile phone after a tip-off that it contained intimate photos of Forrest. Panicked, they went to Paris and then Bordeaux. Forrest devised a false CV and started looking for bar work. They were caught after the owner of an English bar where Forrest asked about work recognised them from media coverage.
While the teenager has stood by Forrest, police and prosecutors argued she was a vulnerable child exploited by a narcissistic abuser.
Questions remain over whether more could have been done about a relationship that had been simmering for seven months before the pair fled and was, the court heard, the subject of widespread rumour around Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Headteacher Terry Boatwright defended the school, saying that until September last year there had only been "very limited anecdotal hearsay and no evidence of a relationship. However, even so, everything was investigated following appropriate safeguarding procedures."
The Local Safeguarding Children Board in East Sussex has begun a serious case review into the actions of the school, local authority and police. It will investigate whether a wider pattern of poor pastoral care exists at a school that has faced three cases linked to child sex abuse within four years.
In 2009 a supply teacher from Bishop Bell was jailed for having sex with two teenage pupils. More recently, the school was widely criticised after failing to remove a retired priest as chair of governors for more than a year after claims of child sex abuse against him emerged.In 2009 a supply teacher from Bishop Bell was jailed for having sex with two teenage pupils. More recently, the school was widely criticised after failing to remove a retired priest as chair of governors for more than a year after claims of child sex abuse against him emerged.
There will also be questions for the police to answer. The court heard how the pair fled the day after officers and child protection officials seized the teenager's phone following a tip-off it contained intimate photos of Forrest. None were found, meaning the teacher was not arrested before he escaped. However, they did exist – one showed the teacher wearing only a pair of boxer shorts – and were shown to the jury. There will also be questions for the police to answer. The court heard how the pair fled the day after officers and child protection officials seized her phone following a tip-off that it contained intimate photos of Forrest. None were found, and the teacher was not arrested before he escaped. However, they did exist – one showed the teacher wearing only a pair of boxer shorts – and were shown to the jury.
Forrest opted not to give evidence, instead relying on the girl's testimony that the journey happened not just with her consent but at her specific instigation, and Forrest feared she might come to harm if she went alone.Forrest opted not to give evidence, instead relying on the girl's testimony that the journey happened not just with her consent but at her specific instigation, and Forrest feared she might come to harm if she went alone.
It was a notion dismissed by the prosecution. "This is not Romeo and Juliet," said Richard Barton QC. "This is a 15-year-old girl with her own vulnerabilities, and a 30-year-old teacher."
The court heard that Forrest's relationship with the girl began as a normal teacher-pupil interaction, with her calling him "sir" and being told off for wearing nail varnish. She developed a crush on him, and an apparent turning point came during a school trip to Los Angeles in February 2012, when Forrest publicly comforted the girl, who was experiencing personal difficulties. They started exchanging Twitter messages in the spring, moving to texting for greater privacy as the content became ever more intimate.
During the school summer break, the court was told, with Forrest by then having been married for less than a year, they started having sex, meeting in hotels, in the grounds of the a crematorium, or going for drives in his Ford Fiesta.
Jokey talk of running away together became suddenly serious when police seized the girl's mobile phone. Panicked, they went to Paris and then Bordeaux. Forrest devised a false CV and started looking for bar work.
They were caught after the owner of an English bar where Forrest asked about work recognised them from media coverage.
The facts of the case were so well-established that Forrest's only viable defence emerged as that of necessity – being forced to act by extreme circumstances. Giving evidence in person, the girl said Forrest only accompanied her to France because he feared she might otherwise harm or even kill herself.
It was an argument dismissed by the jury.
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