Runaway schoolteacher Jeremy Forrest
could be considered a paedophile who groomed his vulnerable young victim
to satisfy his ‘carnal lust,’ a court heard today.
The
married maths master betrayed the trust of the 15-year-old schoolgirl
and her family when he fled to France with the pupil for eight days, it
was claimed.
Forrest,
who appeared to have a black eye as he sat in the dock at Lewes Crown
Court, was accused of taking the teenager on the ‘oddest school trip’.
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Artist drawing of runaway schoolteacher Jeremy Forrest as he sat in
Lewes Crown Court, charged with abduction of a 15-year-old
schoolgirl. His wife Emily is shown giving evidence from behind a curtain
Prosecutor Richard Barton said in his closing speech: ‘You do not have to decide whether he was a paedophile.
Arriving: Teacher Jeremy Forrest is taken into
Lewes Crown Court where it was revealed he would not give evidence and
cried when his sister gave a statement in his defence
‘You may consider, in the context of what he did, that is not an inappropriate label for him.
‘It is about his desires to have that young sexual flesh, to satisfy his own carnal lusts.’
‘You may feel it had nothing to do with her, it was to do with him, with his desires.
‘You may feel he is a man who is flattered by the attention of very young, vulnerable girls.’
The
prosecutor said it was interesting that his wife, Emily Forrest, was a
‘very young-looking, petite woman with her own vulnerabilities.’
‘There
is a word for it. It's called grooming - being caring, being kind,
being close, gaining confidence, gaining the trust of that person and
then you can do what you want to do with them.’
He
said it was not a case of Romeo and Juliet as they would have to have
been ‘equal’ partners in what happened, whereas Forrest’s role in
absconding was ‘absolutely central.’
‘He was there running it.’
‘A teenager isn't going to get out of Eastbourne, let alone out of the country.’
He
went on: ‘You may well feel he is self-centred, mainly concerned with
his self, his needs and desires and not others, you may also feel he is a
coward.’
Referring
to the eight days they spent on the run in Bordeaux, in which they used
fake names to apply for jobs, he added: ‘You may feel it is the oddest
school trip in which one teacher goes away with one pupil and school
activities include having sex with a 15-year-old and changing
identities.’
The schoolgirl’s mother wept in the public gallery as Mr Barton said that the worst ‘betrayal’ had been of her daughter.
Family: Jim and Julie Forrest (centre and right)
arrive with their daughter Carrie (left), who defended her brother as a
devoted uncle and godfather today
In court: Emily Forrest, pictured, fled Lewes
Crown Court in tears yesterday after giving evidence at the trial of her
husband Jeremy who absconded to France with his 15-year-old pupil
Married: Jeremy and Emily Forrest together before he allegedly ran off to France with a pupil
He said: ‘She trusted him with
all her vulnerabilities and he was the figure of authority and he won't
be the first figure of authority who someone gets a crush on him and he
won't be the last, but part of the role of a figure of authority is that
you do not take advantage of it.
‘You
do not expect your school to invite people to have sex with your
under-age daughter and you do not expect it to be the teacher.’
Mr Barton reminded the jury that Forrest had decided not to give evidence and had not filed a statement of his defence.
He continued: ‘Mr Forrest, what is your defence?
‘You
may feel this is the question he fears the most because, during his
experience as a teacher, he may have heard some pretty lame excuses for
homework not being done on time.
Upset: Emily Forrest, the wife of Jeremy Forrest, his as she left Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex yesterday
Claims: Forrest, pictured today, heard how friends had called him an outstanding teacher who had improved students' grades
‘And he may think 'Please, sir, I don't
have a defence - my dog ate it' isn't going to cut the mustard, isn't
going to stand up to scrutiny and that he had no defence at all.
‘You may feel he is a maths teacher whose story doesn't add up. I invite you to find him guilty as charged.’
Forrest, who denies one charge of child abduction, declined to testify in his defence.
Judge Michael Lawson QC said the jury was ‘open to draw inferences’ from this decision.
The teacher wept as six character witnesses were read to the court from his behalf.
His sister, Carrie Hanspaul, a mother-of-three from Kent, described her brother as a doting uncle and godfather.
She
said: 'He's very good-natured and extremely mild-mannered,' adding that
depression may have contributed to his recent actions.
She
said: 'Jeremy had been in a very difficult relationship for the last
six years but didn't want to worry anybody, especially our parents, with
his problems.
'Instead he withdrew more and more and I believe he became more and more depressed.'
Ronald Jaffa, defending, told the jury that Forrest had gone with the girl to France because he feared she was suicidal.
He
said that this was a 'realistic situation' and the defendant had acted
to ensure her well-being. He said that it was not a case of Romeo and
Juliet.
The schoolgirl's mother told Lewes Crown Court she 'went mad' at her daughter when she confronted her about Forrest
He said: 'In that play the lovers died in the end, a pair of star-crossed lovers is the way Shakespeare put it.
'Fortunately
Jeremy chose to go to see her and go with her, what could have happened
if he had not? What would it matter if she had money or not, she could
have hitch-hiked, she could have ended up in a city alone, desperate,
suicidal.'
He added:
'She was very desperate, she had suicidal thoughts and she was
assertive. If he had not taken her, the alternative consequences were
likely to be much worse.
'If
he had taken her back to her mother or the police, no-one would be able
to stop her, it may indeed have been the catalyst for worse
consequences.'
Judge Lawson adjourned the case until tomorrow when he will sum up the case before sending the jury out to consider its verdict.
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