Lesbian teacher spared jail for grooming pupil

A 27 year old teacher who admitted grooming a 15 year old pupil was spared a prison sentence at Carlisle Crown Court.

PE teacher Hayley Southwell began a relationship with a female pupil when she taught her at The Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton, Cumbria.

Judge Peter Hughes QC heard evidence that Southwell had 'groomed' the girl and waited until she was 16 to start a sexual relationship with her.

Southwell was given a 12 month suspended prison sentence, banned from teaching and forced to sign the sexual offenders register.

Pleading guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a person under 18 while in a position of trust, the Court heard that Southwell indulged in a 9 month relationship with the pupil.

The affair was discovered following a tip off to the school about an 'inappropriate relationship' and Police moved quickly to seize IPads and computers from the PE teacher's home.

After officers uncovered Facebook images of girls taking part in school sports day, Southwell's mobile phone revealed texts between her and the girl who cannot be named and photographs of the pair together in various locations across the country including Liverpool, Nottingham and Alton Towers.

The Court heard how the couple shared videos and photographs which were 'intimately explicit' and of a 'sexual nature' often taken in hotel rooms.

In sentencing, the judge added, "Anyone who chooses a career in teaching knows that it is wholly incomprehensible to have an inappropriate relationship with a pupil".

If you have been accused of sexual offences, call us on 01332 370473 or complete the form on the right and we'll contact you in confidence.

The Johnson Partnership

Derby Sexual Offences Solicitors