Former Teacher Jeremy Forrest Sentenced To Five Years In Jail

Jeremy Forrest, 30, from Petts Wood, London, was convicted at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday of child abduction according to BBC News.

According to The Guardian, the teacher was 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.

According to BBC News, while sentencing Forrest, Judge Lawson said:

“Your behavior over this period 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.

“It has damaged you too, but that was something you were prepared to risk.

“You now have to pay that price.”

Forrest had police on an international police hunt when he and the 15-year-old girl escaped to France and spent just over a week on the run from the police after a relationship between the two was first discovered back in September.

BBC News reported the judge imposed a sentence of four and a half years for the counts of sexual activity with a child and one year for child abduction, to run consecutively.

Forrest isn’t the only teacher who’s engaged in sexual or suggestive relationships with his student.

Robert Ammon Jr., former Professor at Slippery Rock University, recently lost his appeal by a 2-1 vote regarding his dismissal from the University because of his sexual discussions with students during a spring break trip he was leading.

There was also the case of a 35-year-old high school teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan was arrested for allegedly having sex with at least two male students.

BBC News stated:

“They [Forrest and the student] had sex in his car, in hotels and at his marital home, the court heard.

“Fearing they were about to be exposed, Forrest booked them on a cross-Channel ferry from Dover to Calais on 20 September last year.

“They spent seven days in France before they were spotted in Bordeaux.”

After the sentencing, Forrest’s family read a statement to the public, stating how sorry Forrest was for his actions, and that there are still many factors in the case that need to be examined and addressed, “including the failure to properly act on early warnings.”

The Guardian stated:

“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 teacher had mouthed “I love you” to the girl as he was brought up to the dock for the verdict.”

[Image via Huffington Post]