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Steve Bell/REX
UK News

Girl accused of 'grooming' RE teacher hits out

Stuart Kerner, 44, was given a suspended 18-month sentence after Judge Joanna Greenberg QC said it was clear his 16-year-old victim was ''obsessed'' with him.

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told The Sun newspaper the judge's comments were like being "kicked in the stomach".

She rejected the judge's analysis of the case and insisted the teacher had pursued her.

"How did I seduce him? I didn't pounce on him. He was the teacher. He groomed me. He arranged the time and places that we would meet," she said.

The teenager added: "I still can't get my head around how someone as well educated as a judge could say those things.

"People will picture me wearing skirts and dolled up with make-up but I'm a plain Jane who worked in the school library. I wish the trial had never gone ahead. I regret it more than the affair."

In the interview she admitted that she had 'fancied' the RE teacher and did not want to be arrested.

She said the teacher was her "first boyfriend".

Mr Kerner walked free from court in December despite being found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

During sentencing the judge said: "[The victim] pursued you.

"Her friends described her, accurately in my view, as stalking you.

"If grooming is the right word to use, it was she who groomed you, [and] you gave in to temptation."

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