A mother has described how paedophile teacher Jeremy Forrest “robbed her daughter of her childhood”, after he was jailed for five- and-a-half years.
The 30-year-old was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court in the UK for five charges of sexual activity with a child and one count of child abduction.
In a dramatic twist, Forrest waived his rights under extradition laws which had prevented him from being tried for the sexual offences, paving the way for him to be sentenced for all the offences.
He was found guilty of child abduction on Thursday following an eight-day trial. The jury heard that he had groomed the schoolgirl into having sex with him before taking her to France with him as he attempted to avoid being caught.
Judge Michael Lawson QC sentenced Forrest to four-and-a-half years for the five offences of sexual activity with a child and one year for the offence of child abduction, to run consecutively.
Forrest showed no emotion but nodded to his family as he was taken down to the cells.
Judge Lawson told Forrest: “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.”
Before the jury returned its verdict on Thursday, the defendant turned to the girl and said: “I love you.”
The girl sobbed and said: “I am sorry,” as he was led back to the cells.
Ronald Jaffa, defending, said, “I didn’t see that because that happened behind me in court. But, yes, I think certainly there is, between them, there seems to be a love and has been, if not a deep, deep infatuation, certainly something along those lines.”
Mr Jaffa said his client had been depressed in the years prior to meeting the girl as his marriage broke down.
Richard Barton, prosecuting, read a victim impact statement provided by the girl’s mother.
The court heard that she has fallen out with her daughter, who moved out from her home two months ago. The girl was not in court for yesterday’s sentencing hearing but was present on Thursday when Forrest was convicted.
Forrest befriended the girl when she was just 14. She had just turned 15 when he started having sex with her, having groomed her for several months after she developed a crush on him at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne, East Sussex.