Jeremy Forrest ignored warnings from fellow teachers before fleeing to France with schoolgirl, say prosecutors
A married maths teacher pursued a relationship with a vulnerable and infatuated 15-year-old pupil before the pair fled to France when his deception was discovered, a court has been told.
The jury should ignore the apparent consent of the girl, said Richard Barton QC, opening the prosecution case against 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest, who is charged with child abduction.
"This is not Romeo and Juliet," Barton told Lewes crown court in East Sussex. "This is a 15-year-old girl with her own vulnerabilities, and a 30-year-old teacher."
Forrest ignored warnings from colleagues about their closeness and vanished with her when the burgeoning relationship was about to be exposed, Barton said: "Their disappearance without informing anyone of their whereabouts led to several days and nights of anxious waiting for the girl's family, and extensive and time-consuming searches by the authorities."
The prosecution case against Forrest, who taught at Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne, East Sussex, began on Monday. However, the judge, Michael Lawson QC, imposed an order banning reporting until the start of the first witness testimony, expected to be that of the alleged victim.
Forrest, the jury heard, first became aware that the teenager had "a bit of a crush on him" near the start of last year, when she was still 14. The teacher had married only the previous August, but this relationship was already in difficulties, with his wife complaining he was increasingly secretive.
During a school trip to Los Angeles in February, the girl confided personal problems to Forrest and other teachers saw she was "increasingly infatuated" with him, Barton said. Back at the school, senior staff urged him to keep his distance.
Despite Forrest's insistence that he could handle the situation the pair exchanged messages on a personal Twitter account connected to his hobby as a musician, the teenager using the adopted surname Del Rey, after her favourite singer, Lana Del Rey.
Barton said: "These messages, over time, gradually became of a more flirtatious nature, on both their parts."
As rumours about the pair spread around the school, Forrest continued to deny any wrongdoing, and their contact became secretive. They exchanged private text messages, and met regularly at school and in his car. During the summer holiday they stayed in several hotels, the court heard.
By the start of the new school year, other staff were sufficiently concerned to call police and children's services. Police were handed the girl's mobile phone by her mother and found intimate picture messages from Forrest, including one of him wearing only his boxer shorts.
As discovery appeared imminent, previously "fanciful" talk between the pair of running away became realistic, Barton said, with the teenager secretly packing a bag.
On the day of the alleged abduction, 20 September, Forrest called in sick and told his wife he would be in London for a few days. The girl borrowed a friend's phone to liaise with the teacher and persuaded another to lie to her mother about a planned sleepover.
This second friend, Barton said, "felt a strong urge to say to her mother: 'Don't let her' She was afraid of what [the girl] and Jeremy Forrest were going to do together." He added: "You will have to consider his role in inculcating other children in the subterfuge."
Forrest and the girl took a ferry to Calais, the teenager travelling under the name of Forrest's wife. He took his wife's passport, believing the schoolgirl resembled "a younger version" and could use the document if needed.
They abandoned his black Ford Fiesta in Paris and took a train to Bordeaux, in the south-west. Barton said: "At that point the mother received the call any parent considers their nightmare: you think [your daughter] is at school, but she is not and we have no idea where she is."
British police obtained a European arrest warrant for Forrest and circulated pictures of the pair.
In Bordeaux, Forrest created fake CVs so they could seek work. He became Jack Dean, an aspiring novelist, while the schoolgirl took the surname Grant, the real surname of Lana Del Rey.
They were discovered when the owner of a British bar in the city saw their photos on the Guardian website and recognised them as a man who had come seeking work and his "girlfriend". Police asked her to invite Forrest back to the bar, arresting him as he walked there with the teenager.
The girl was "undoubtedly a willing participant in all that occurred", Barton said, but this was irrelevant. "This was a gross and long-term breach of trust on the part of this defendant."
Forrest, from Ringmer, near Lewes, denies one count of child abduction. The trial continues.
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
A married maths teacher pursued a relationship with a vulnerable and infatuated 15-year-old pupil before the pair fled to France when his deception was discovered, a court has been told.
The jury should ignore the apparent consent of the girl, said Richard Barton QC, opening the prosecution case against 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest, who is charged with child abduction.
"This is not Romeo and Juliet," Barton told Lewes crown court in East Sussex. "This is a 15-year-old girl with her own vulnerabilities, and a 30-year-old teacher."
Forrest ignored warnings from colleagues about their closeness and vanished with her when the burgeoning relationship was about to be exposed, Barton said: "Their disappearance without informing anyone of their whereabouts led to several days and nights of anxious waiting for the girl's family, and extensive and time-consuming searches by the authorities."
The prosecution case against Forrest, who taught at Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne, East Sussex, began on Monday. However, the judge, Michael Lawson QC, imposed an order banning reporting until the start of the first witness testimony, expected to be that of the alleged victim.
Forrest, the jury heard, first became aware that the teenager had "a bit of a crush on him" near the start of last year, when she was still 14. The teacher had married only the previous August, but this relationship was already in difficulties, with his wife complaining he was increasingly secretive.
During a school trip to Los Angeles in February, the girl confided personal problems to Forrest and other teachers saw she was "increasingly infatuated" with him, Barton said. Back at the school, senior staff urged him to keep his distance.
Despite Forrest's insistence that he could handle the situation the pair exchanged messages on a personal Twitter account connected to his hobby as a musician, the teenager using the adopted surname Del Rey, after her favourite singer, Lana Del Rey.
Barton said: "These messages, over time, gradually became of a more flirtatious nature, on both their parts."
As rumours about the pair spread around the school, Forrest continued to deny any wrongdoing, and their contact became secretive. They exchanged private text messages, and met regularly at school and in his car. During the summer holiday they stayed in several hotels, the court heard.
By the start of the new school year, other staff were sufficiently concerned to call police and children's services. Police were handed the girl's mobile phone by her mother and found intimate picture messages from Forrest, including one of him wearing only his boxer shorts.
As discovery appeared imminent, previously "fanciful" talk between the pair of running away became realistic, Barton said, with the teenager secretly packing a bag.
On the day of the alleged abduction, 20 September, Forrest called in sick and told his wife he would be in London for a few days. The girl borrowed a friend's phone to liaise with the teacher and persuaded another to lie to her mother about a planned sleepover.
This second friend, Barton said, "felt a strong urge to say to her mother: 'Don't let her' She was afraid of what [the girl] and Jeremy Forrest were going to do together." He added: "You will have to consider his role in inculcating other children in the subterfuge."
Forrest and the girl took a ferry to Calais, the teenager travelling under the name of Forrest's wife. He took his wife's passport, believing the schoolgirl resembled "a younger version" and could use the document if needed.
They abandoned his black Ford Fiesta in Paris and took a train to Bordeaux, in the south-west. Barton said: "At that point the mother received the call any parent considers their nightmare: you think [your daughter] is at school, but she is not and we have no idea where she is."
British police obtained a European arrest warrant for Forrest and circulated pictures of the pair.
In Bordeaux, Forrest created fake CVs so they could seek work. He became Jack Dean, an aspiring novelist, while the schoolgirl took the surname Grant, the real surname of Lana Del Rey.
They were discovered when the owner of a British bar in the city saw their photos on the Guardian website and recognised them as a man who had come seeking work and his "girlfriend". Police asked her to invite Forrest back to the bar, arresting him as he walked there with the teenager.
The girl was "undoubtedly a willing participant in all that occurred", Barton said, but this was irrelevant. "This was a gross and long-term breach of trust on the part of this defendant."
Forrest, from Ringmer, near Lewes, denies one count of child abduction. The trial continues.
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.