A teacher has been jailed after a former pupil told a Judge how his sexting and online grooming led her to attempt suicide.
The girl was just 14 when she was coerced into abusing herself while South Hams maths teacher Richard Ariss listened to what she was doing.
He was a former teacher at her school, who started grooming her after her parents contacted him through Facebook to arrange private tuition.
The girl, now aged 16, sobbed as she stood in the witness box at Exeter Crown Court to read out a heart-rending account of how the abuse has affected her life.
Ariss, 28, stared impassively from the dock as the girl said she wanted him to go to jail and told of the pain she has suffered from teasing and bullying at school as a result of her contact with him.
She said: ’I have struggled to sleep, I have self harmed, and taken an overdose. I have struggled with feeling responsible, even though I know it was not my fault.
’I have had trouble at school with people laughing at me behind my back and calling me names. I am scared to walk down corridors because of what everyone is thinking about me.
’I struggle to trust people and have lost friends. My grades have suffered and I cannot do the subject he taught because it reminds me of it all.
’I am scared of teachers who are nice to me because it reminds me of how it all started. My trust in teachers has vanished.
’He tried to take the greatest gift my mother gave to me - my life. It has taken nearly two years to get over it. I would like him to face the fear I suffer every day and the struggle to face each day and what it will bring.
’I want him to feel the hurt I have to live with and realise the impact this has had on me and my family. He deserves to go to prison because his actions have affected so many people.
’I feel utterly unsafe because of the fear he will come after me for speaking up. I should not have to live in fear for doing the right thing. I am proud I have told what he has done and stopped him hurting other children.’
Ariss, who comes from Combe Martin, North Devon but now lives in Alford Close, Exeter, admitted three offences of inciting a child to take part in sexual activity.
The offences all happened in September 2014, when he had just left the victim’s school and was working at a secondary school in Torbay.
He was jailed for 12 months by Recorder Mr Andrew Oldland, QC, who also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will restrict his contact with children in the future.
He told him: ’Your contact with the girl became increasingly intimate and sexualised. You gained her trust and she spoke of things which were worrying her. As the texts became more intimate you asked her to delete them.
’You encouraged her to touch herself sexually and discussed her performing oral sex. These were repeated offences. You were intending to meet her and this was only prevented because her mother saw the texts.
’I have no hesitation in concluding that if you had met there would have been sexual contact. Behaving in this way to a former pupil was a gross breach of trust.
’You were 27 and she was 14. Teachers are supposed to protect pupils, not to abuse them. This was planned and pre-meditated. It was a classic case of what is called grooming.
’In the interview with the writer of the probation report you have minimised your role and at times sought to blame the victim. That is distorted thinking.’
Mr Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said Ariss had taught the girl maths at the school and after he left he set up a Facebook page designed as a teaching tool for students.
The girl’s parents contacted him through Facebook to arrange private tuition but shortly before the first lesson her mother found the texts and called the police.
Ariss told the girl to delete texts and messages he sent on another, private Facebook page and told her to store his number as ’random male’.
Mr Coombe said: ’Shortly after this came to light she overdosed on paracetamol and her mother found farewell letters to friends, one of which was to the defendant and indicated they had planned to meet.’
When police arrested Ariss he claimed he had lost his phone but police knew he was lying because he had texted the girl just hours earlier.
His messages encouraged her to perform sex acts on herself and showed that on one occasion he had got her to ring him while so he could listen to her.
Mr Coombe said: ’The aggravating features are inciting her to penetrate herself and suggesting she should perform oral sex on him. There was significant planning and he has groomed her over time in gross breach of trust.’
Mr Rupert Taylor, defending, said the offences were remote rather than through direct contact and have already led to the loss of Ariss’ career.
He lost a job in a restaurant when the owners found out about the offences and has found work more recently as a delivery driver. He said Ariss would benefit from attending a sex offenders’ treatment programme in the community rather than going to jail.