FEMALE PE TEACHER JAILED FOR GROOMING GIRL PUPIL
Teen felt ‘pressured’ into sex
A WOMAN shortlisted for Sports Teacher of the Year has been jailed for two years after admitting a relationship with a girl pupil.
Erin Hebblewhite, 29, pleaded guilty to four charges of sexual activity with the 16-year-old pupil and abusing her position of trust.
She also admitted sexual activity in the presence of a teenager and taking and possessing indecent photos of a girl under the age of 17.
The charges of sexual activity with the girl, including kissing on the site of her East London school, happened the year Hebblewhite was shortlisted for the London-wide award.
Snaresbrook crown court heard the teen, who cannot be named, said she lost her virginity to Hebblewhite in a restaurant bathroom during a Valentine’s Day date.
Prosecutor Fiona Bryan said the girl “felt like she had given in to pressure to behave more and more sexually”.
After Hebblewhite broke up with her partner, the teen regularly visited her home for sex.
Ms Bryan said: “Photos were taken of the two of them together. She said she didn’t want them to be taken but felt pressurised.” Hebblewhite, from Brighton, had also tried to pressure the girl into having sex in the toilets in Primark. Ms Bryan said: “She said no, but recalled her being forceful and persistent.” The affair came to light when the girl’s mother found explicit messages from Hebblewhite on her daughter’s phone. Police searched Hebblewhite’s home and found a USB stick with 400 images, some of the teacher and girl naked in bed.
Judge Neil Sanders said the girl was left with depression and PTSD.