Jeremy Forrest verdict - aibu to be confused?

[noddyboulder]

Yep, I don't think even his own parents could deny he's a massive, hideous scumbag with no impulse control - but how can he have been found guilty of abduction when the girl he had an affair with said it was her idea to go to France and she went willingly?

Can somebody legal shed some light?

Check out the Daily Mail, I am truly horrified at the amount of sympathy and support that Forrest is getting there. To me he is just a grotesque sexual predator who abused his position of trust to groom and seduce a child. I have put a post there to that effect and it has been 'red arrow' disliked.

There is a lot of talk about 'you can't help where you love' and 'she went with him willingly so what's the fuss?'; the issue of abuse of trust is completely ignored as is the pain caused to his wife as well as to the girl and her family.

I presume that the people who support him would have absolutely no problem with schoolteachers having sex with and abducting THEIR children.

No wonder sexual abuse of young women/ girls and children is so widespread, there are many many people out there who condone it and indulge in victim blaming.

oh god, I have just signed up to the Daily Mail just so I can leave a post! - will possibly live to regret that decision!! Life, I will green arrow as your post if i can find it!

arrrgh! regretting it already - its bloody censored!

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Can someone explain how he's now been charged with sex with an under 16, when he was on trial for abduction? I understood that there were various reasons as to why he wasn't charged with this in the first place, so how has it cropped up now?

He was extradited for abduction so initially could only be put on trial for this.

After this trial he had a choice, plead guilty to sex with a child and avoid a second trial, or plead not guilty and have a second trial.

Pleading guilty at this stage means he gets some time of his sentence and there is not much doubt that he has had sex with her is there?

I think that people who are seeing a 'forbidden love' scenario are blinding themselves to the extent that Forrest was in a position to groom his victim. I am guessing that by the time they went to France she no longer knew which way was up. He had so disrupted her moral compass.

He will have so groomed her that I think that all the comments about the level of trouble and upset at home have to be treated with a big pinch of salt. Did he pick her as his victim because she was vulnerable or did his picking of her as a victim make her vulnerable?

Oh my god.... Are people on MN really defending, excusing and justifying his behaviour. I am disgusted that anyone would think this perverted little man should get anything less than a very long term prison sentence and requirement to sign on the sex offenders register.... Applaud to think any parent would think anything other than lock the pervert up!

I think that while hes a scumbag, I think theres a huge amount of irony how women who are raped generally get no help and are practically blamed for their assault, yet a girl who actually believes she loves the guy and willingly went, is being cross examined to try and uncover evdence that her consent meant nothing because she was a year too young to freely give it.

It smacks to me of our bodies not being our own, and decisions about our bodies can be totally overridden according to government.
I also notice a lot of people acting like the crime against the girl is actually a crime against the parents more than against the girl herself.

This is a massive show of government power and a massive punishment to a girl that actually consented, and is a child only culturally and by government say so, but obviously not physically or mentally, and went of her own free will, and was completely unharmed and complicit.

I actually feel quite conflicted about it, because I can see the other points as well, but I think the issue of grooming happens in all ages, and i think 15 is kind of a grey area
and my moral compass wrt sex, only extends to as far as both parties want to do it

and as I said, i do feel conflicted, because I also see that this cant be allowed to just happen and be ok and got away with etc.

Branleuse she was 14 years old when he started sexually kissing her in his class room. This has nothing to do with her consent. This is to do with the teacher grooming a child to the point were she would do anything for him include what now looks like lie to a court. He was the adult and knew the consequences... I disagree that her consent changes anything in this situation.

You're talking total crap Brasn having unprotected sex with a 15 year old girl in a car, who has a history of self harming and eating disorders is very fucking abusive.

And she can't consent because she is a child, not just legally, but to re-quote Charlie Broker, morally, physically and actually.

"a girl who actually believes she loves the guy and willingly went, is being cross examined to try and uncover evdence that her consent meant nothing because she was a year too young to freely give it."

Young girls emulate the media's portrayal of women which means they try and dress like adults. It would seem this confuses some people into thinking they are adults

Perhaps people who are struggling with a teacher targeting vulnerable girls half his age to have sex with could focus on Forrests children. Maybe if they think about those DC and his wife reading about him gushing I love you to a 15 yr old girl whilst their lives have been torn apart can see the sort of man he is.

At what age do people think sex is ok? As soon as a girl starts developing breasts? When she starts noticing her own breasts? When men start noticing her breasts? This can be age 10 or 14. The age of consent should be linked to mental development not physical. Yes 16 is an arbitrary age and everyone matures differently but a 30 yr old man is capable of waiting. The choice to target a 14 yr old is very much a choice, a plan...not an accidental love affair.

I don't think it's her being a child that is the issue as much as him being her teacher and much older. If she had ran away with an 18 year old boy this wouldn't have been in the news at all and no-one would be going to gaol.
I think the word paedophile is misused here and is best reserved forprepubescent children. 15 year olds can look older and someone wanting to have sex with them isn't necessarily wanting to have sex with children.
I do believe strongly that teachers shouldn't have sex with their pupils, and in this case the girl wasn't 1 year too young she was 3 years too young as it's illegal for teachers to have sex with pupils under 18.
She wasn't a mature sensible 15 either she sounds screwed up and in need of a father figure to advise her not someone to screw her, but that's irrelevent

i was very much interested in sex at 15 and then at 16, left home to live with my boyfriend, so forgive me for thinking that 15 year olds arent really all children. I also remember quite clearly my views on the world and feelings, being not very dissimilar to how i feel now 20 years later.

I very much believe he groomed her, and he was in the wrong, but I dont think that makes it rape

So what's your definition of rape?

bran that's what the age of consent means. A 14 year old can't consent. She was just 15 when he - a 30 year old man - was taking her to hotel rooms. She should have been at home revising and hanging out with friends. He started grooming her at 14. People need to think about what "choice" and "consent" mean in cases such as this. It isn't clear enough.

The sentence is appropriate. Those complaining it's too long in comparison to other crimes should be saying that other sentences are too short.

I'm dismayed at the support he's getting via Daily Mail. The same types that call for blood in other crimes. Thankfully the police, jury and judge appreciate the seriousness of this crime. It's because of this idea that young teens are complicit that the grooming and abuse of girls in care homes was ignored.

A terrible school. I wonder if anyone will lose their jobs over this?

I'm heartened by his sentence - but pissed off at the sympathy he's getting. At least he'll never teach again.

stupid phone. What I was going to say after that quote, is that she was 3 years too young, not one. Would you have the same thoughts if a man of 27 who was not a teacher started a sexual relationship with a 13 year old girl??

This is my teacher from school. link

This shorter link contains a photo of him here

I was very messed up at school. Eating disorder, self harm, crap at home. I fainted a lot due to starving myself/vomiting/lax abuse. This teacher was always lovely and kind and caring to me. He was the schools first aider so would get paged if I was ill. He was also a guidance teacher, not sure what the term in England is but he was the point of call for a set group if they needed support and he taught them PSHE. So he was down as a nice guy. He was also a scout leader and taught 1st aid voluntarily at weekends.

You can see from the photos he was not particularly attractive - very over weight, balding, quite short, when he grew a beard it was bright orange.

I always felt I could trust him, he was on my side. As it turned out I had a specific teacher who I found it very easy to talk to - but he would have been a realy possibility for me to confide in. I now feel very sad and confused about him.

I left school 11 years ago, these stories are more recent. I wonder if I had got close and confised in him what would have happened.

I couldn't agree more sauce

Branleuse she was 14 when he started grooming her so he had plenty of time to get her were he needed her to be. We need to all not forget he started when she was 14 not 15 nearly 16... She was 14..

Teenagers will be intrigued and interested in sex at 15/16 doesn't give adults cart blanch to sleep with them... All adults that take advantage of this should be locked up. Particularly those in a position of trust and responsibility. There are no exceptions to that rule in my book. So in my opinion if your boyfriend was an adult at the time you lived with him (15) he should be prosecuted too.

Branleuse you are talking about yourself. Not every child is mature at that age, otherwise we'd allow them to vote...sign legal documents etc

It's about a legal situation. A teacher is aware of the law. This is not an accidental situation. He knew the consequences

deepfried that's absolutely chilling.

Coming back to consent and sex at 14. There is a world of difference between a 14 year girl feeling "ready" and consenting to sex with her 16 year old boyfriend. This is very rarely a police matter.

This is grown man, a married adult on a position of authority who googled the legalities of sex with a 15 year old. She was unhappy at home. Instead of setting about to improve her relationships at home he used her vulnerabilities to his advantage. They were in the premier inn for fucks sake. She is an immature child and he's a married man. If she was mature and capable she wouldn't believe a word this married man had to say. So it's not consensual!

I feel so unhappy that an abuser can successfully manipulate a child to the point she's estranged from her mum, wrecked her education, and possibly perjured herself.

"The sentence is appropriate. Those complaining it's too long in comparison to other crimes should be saying that other sentences are too short"

Well, on every other social media and most newspaper comment sections the majority view is that the sentence is too long and that compared to similar sentences in the past it is harsh.

Not the social media I'm reading Janey

I could post links but life is too short.