Ex-teacher jailed for sexually assaulting teenage pupil at Norfolk academy
The former soldier was sentenced for crimes spanning more than two years.
A former soldier turned teacher has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison after sexually assaulting a teenage pupil at Hethersett Academy in Norfolk.
Simon Taylor, 43, served in the Army, where he lost part of his right leg in Afghanistan following a roadside bomb explosion in 2009. He subsequently transitioned into education but later used his position to target and manipulate a teenage girl at the school, Norwich Crown Court heard.
Taylor admitted to five offences, including sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust after touching the girl’s thigh under her skirt at school. He also admitted two counts of sexual communication with a child and two counts of sexual assault, which involved touching the girl’s breasts in his car, both while she was a pupil and after she had left school.
Judge Andrew Shaw stated that the girl "suffered severe psychological harm" due to Taylor’s actions, saying: "You groomed her, you manipulated her, you sent her indecent images of your genitalia." He added that Taylor sent messages describing “sexual acts” he wanted to perform on her.
Addressing Taylor’s military service, the judge acknowledged his injuries and noted that he was severely affected by an improvised explosive device. However, he said there was "no identifiable link between your PTSD and your decision to offend."
Aside from his prison sentence, Taylor was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register and is subject to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order against contacting the victim or her parents. He is also barred permanently from working with children.
The court heard the offences spanned more than two years and continued after the girl left Hethersett Academy. Prosecutor Isobel Ascherson said Taylor had manipulated the victim, making her “think that he was the only one who cared or could help her.”
Taylor contacted the girl through the school’s messaging platform and deleted messages. Ms Ascherson said he demanded the girl send him images, threatening self-harm if she refused. The victim reported Taylor to the police in 2022 and also disclosed the abuse to his wife.
In her victim impact statement, the girl said: "My childhood was stolen from me. I never had the chance to be a normal teenager."
Defence lawyer Richard English KC told the court that Taylor "accepts he has caused real and great harm."
Taylor, now of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, showed no reaction as he was sentenced.