Teacher Jeremy Forrest found guilty of child abduction
A jury finds teacher Jeremy Forrest guilty of abducting a 15-year-old girl who he took to France when their sexual affair was about to be exposed.
Married Forrest, of Chislehurst Road, Petts Wood, south east London, was convicted by the jury following an eight-day trial at Lewes Crown Court.
The 30-year-old was labelled a “paedophile” by the prosecution, who said he “groomed” the vulnerable teenager and his actions were a gross breach of trust.
The trial has heard how the pupil had just turned 15 when she started a sexual relationship with Forrest after developing a crush on him at Bishop Bell C of E School in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Fearing they were about to be exposed, Forrest booked them on a cross-Channel ferry from Dover to Calais on September 20 last year before spending seven days on the run in France.
School uniform
The trial heard that the pair had a sexual relationship. Forrest would pick the girl up in her school uniform and they would have sex in his car, in hotels and at his marital home.
The court heard that the girl told a friend they had sex up to eight times a night.
The girl also sent the defendant topless pictures of herself and he sent a photo of himself with his torso naked and his hands in his underpants.
Richard Barton, prosecuting, said Forrest’s actions were an abuse of trust and he had not acted with the consent of the girl’s parents.
Groomed
He added that Forrest could be labelled a “paedophile” who had groomed the vulnerable teenager.
Ronald Jaffa, defending, said the girl was “desperate and suicidal” and Forrest went with her to France to prevent her coming to harm.
In a dramatic moment before the hearing got under way this morning, Forrest’s father Jim collapsed in court and was treated by a paramedic before being taken away by ambulance.
The defendant, wearing a grey suit, striped shirt and purple tie, and with cropped hair and glasses, was visibly worried and consulted with his family as he took his seat in the dock.
Tears
As the foreman of the jury announced the verdict, the girl put her head in her hands and burst out crying.
As the jury arrived back in court, Forrest had turned to her and said: “I love you.”
He remained stony-faced as the verdict was given.
And as he was taken down to the cells, the girl said to the defendant: “I’m sorry.”