Teacher who fled to France with his pupil and spent a week on the run has been jailed after admitting five counts of sexual activity with a child. Jeremy Forrest, who was convicted by a jury yesterday of abducting the schoolgirl, pleaded guilty to the additional charges and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.
During his trial, the prosecution labelled him a “paedophile” and said he “groomed” the vulnerable teenager.
The 30-year-old insists he still loves the youngster, who broke down in tears and told him she was “sorry” as he was found guilty of her abduction.
She did not attend court for his sentencing but in a victim statement, her mother said her relationship with her daughter would “never be the same again.
Passing sentence, the judge at Lewes Crown Court said Forrest “chose to ignore the cardinal rule of teaching” by starting a sexual relationship with the teenager shortly after her 15th birthday.
Rumours of Forrest’s relationship with the teenager surfaced in February last year, when the pair were spotted holding hands during a flight on a school trip to Los Angeles.
The girl, now 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted having a crush on Forrest, who taught at Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
They exchanged flirty text messages, tweets and photographs but denied any wrongdoing when pressed by the school.
