Katherine Malyon (shown) kissed the girl in a classroom and had a nine-month affair
A female teacher who had a nine-month sexual relationship with a 15-year-old schoolgirl has been jailed for more than two years.
Katherine Malyon initially offered support to the girl after she suffered a traumatic experience but contact between them became ‘inappropriate and intense’.
Malyon, 28, was repeatedly told to stop meeting with the pupil by secondary school after staff began to notice how close the pair were becoming.
But the two ended up kissing in a classroom during a chance meeting in the school holidays and this led to a full-blown affair.
A court heard Malyon took the girl on day trips to an aquarium and a music festival and had sexual activity with her on her at least ten occasions.
Malyon was suspended in June last year after a photo of her kissing the girl was circulated around the school by another pupil.
The victim then confessed everything to her mother, who reported the relationship to the police.
When interviewed by officers, Malyon told them she loved the girl and believed they would get married.
As well as the sexual contact, Malyon also admitted to police the pair had exchanged intimate photos of each other.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, refused to give an account of what happened to the police.
Malyon, described as a ‘high achiever’ who comes from a family of teachers, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a child between October and November 2017 and two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust from December 2017 to June 2018.
Rob Welling, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court that Malyon was a teacher at the same secondary school the victim went to in Dorset.
Mr Welling said that having been trained in child safeguarding matters, Malyon developed a ‘healthy and professional’ relationship with the girl after she had sought emotional support from her.
He added: ‘But it then crossed the boundaries.
Rob Welling, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court (pictured) that Malyon was a teacher at the same secondary school the victim went to in Dorset
‘It became obvious to the school the relationship was too intense and there was too much reliance on Katherine Malyon by the complainant.’
Mr Welling said the school leadership team became very concerned and gave Malyon several warnings to stop contacting the girl.
He said: ‘A chance meeting at school during the summer holidays in 2017 set the chain of events in motion. They kissed and from there a relationship developed.
‘That relationship became official, albeit secret, in October.
‘The complainant [the girl] asked to meet, there was some resistance by Katherine Malyon but she did eventually let her come to her address.
‘The relationship was one conducted in secrecy. They would have regular contact by phone. She took the complainant and her friend out for day trips.
‘She told the police that she loved the complainant and believed they were going to marry.’
David Swinton, defending, said his client realised what she did was wrong and was very remorseful.
He described her case as a ‘tragedy’ and said Malyon’s world had come ‘crashing down’.
He said: ‘She was an entirely respectable, well-qualified, hard working person.
‘She got very emotionally involved in an unprofessional way. She saw it as a love between two people, she knows that’s wrong.
‘The details are only known because she admitted them. Once interviewed she made full and frank confessions immediately.
‘There is a great deal of remorse and degree of understanding and trying to come to terms with herself and what she has done.
‘She has been seeing a psychologist over the last months.
‘This is a tragedy in a sense; a high-achieving person whose world has come crashing down around her because of a fault.’
Judge Brian Forster sentenced Malyon to two years and four months in prison.
He also imposed a 10-year restraining order preventing her from contacting the student, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered her to sign onto the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.