ALICE MCBREARTY SENTENCED IN EAST LONDON FOR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH 15-YEAR-OLD BOY
A 23-year-old teacher, Alice McBrearty, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for engaging in a romantic and sexual relationship with a 15-year-old pupil at an east London school.McBrearty pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.
The court heard that McBrearty and the boy, who must remain unnamed, carried out their relationship over four months.
Snaresbrook Crown Court was told she kissed the boy in a classroom and later had sex with him at her parents' home in Wanstead Park.
Prosecutors revealed that the relationship began when McBrearty sent the boy a friend request on Facebook.
Barrister Lisa Matthews explained that the teenager "felt special" and "appeared to be besotted" with McBrearty.
The pair met in various locations, including a hotel room that McBrearty had booked, and engaged in sexual contact.
The relationship came to an end after the boy's father contacted the police.
During the sentencing, McBrearty was visibly upset, putting her head in her hands and sobbing.
Judge Sheelagh Canavan described her as a "bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong," but emphasized that she had committed a "gross breach of trust." In her remarks, the judge stated, "You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child.
I accept he was consenting — what 15-year-old schoolboy wouldn't be tempted by such an attractive offer?
I believe you genuinely thought it was a great romance, that you were in love, and that age didn't matter.
But it did.
You were supposed to keep him safe and help him make good choices.
Instead, you led him astray." Emma Shafton, representing McBrearty, noted that her client, who is no longer teaching, has experienced a "spectacular fall from grace" and has been "utterly disgraced" by her actions.
