Thaindian News

London, Mar 22 (ANI): A female drama teacher in Britain has landed in court after it emerged that she seduced a 13-year-old pupil, who went to her for help over bullying.

Caroline French, 38, allegedly bought alcohol and cigarettes for the girl, a pupil at the secondary school where she was a form tutor, and to have groomed her by encouraging her to confide all her troubles in her.

They exchanged texts and emails, and by the age of 14, the girl was allegedly sleeping at French’s house, where they drank lager and smoked cigarettes.

The teacher is said to have given the confused pupil a “French-style” kiss on one of the visits, and soon after the relationship became intimate and sexual.

The pupil was made to wear an “engagement ring” on her finger, and the relationship is said to have lasted until the girl was 17.

At Preston Crown Court, French, who claims to be heterosexual, has pleaded not guilty to one count of indecency with a child and three counts of indecent assault on a child.

“It became a sexual relationship between the two. Over that period of time there was a process by which the defendant groomed the complainant,” the Daily Mail quoted Richard Howarth, prosecuting, as saying.

He said French invited the teenager to sleep at her home when the girl had trouble with her mother, and plied her with Budweiser lager and cigarettes.

“Eventually the time came that the complainant was sleeping over … and was touched sexually,” he stated.

Giving evidence via video link, the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described how she initially met French when she was in high school in Blackpool.

“No other teachers were like her. We could talk to her. In Year Nine [for pupils aged 13 and 14] we were spending dinnertime in her room,” she said.

She said she felt trapped by the relationship and was petrified French would tell somebody at the school about it.

The alleged relationship soured and the pair split up when the pupil began a casual, experimental relationship with another girl her age.

The jury of six men and six women heard the alleged offences took place between September 2002 and April 2004.

The trial continues. (ANI)