"What 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?" says judge as female teacher, 23, jailed for having sex with pupil
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A female teacher who had sex with a 15-year-old schoolboy in a hotel and at her parents' home after befriending him on social media has been jailed.
Alice McBrearty, 23, also kissed the pupil in a classroom and performed sex acts on him in an empty garage and in her car, a court heard today.
The judge told her she accepted that the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was consenting to the "full-blown sexual relationship".
Sentencing McBrearty to 16 months behind bars, she said: "I accept he was consenting - what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?"
Judge Sheelagh Canavan added that the defendant was a "bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong".
But she said she had committed the "grossest breach of trust".
(Image: PA)
McBrearty, who taught at a London school, admitted having a four-month relationship earlier this year with the student.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how she took the boy to an Ibis hotel for sex.
She also took him to her parents' home in Wanstead Park, east London, where she performed sex acts on him and had sex.
And the pair went for strolls and out for meals, the court was told.
McBrearty, who pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust at an earlier hearing, put her head in her hands and sobbed in the dock as the judge jailed her for a total of 16 months.
Judge Canavan told the defendant she had "engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child".
She continued: "I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn't matter. But it did.
"You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions.
"Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones."
McBrearty has since resigned from teaching and has been working on a zero-hours contract, delivering parcels to Amazon.
The court heard the relationship began when the defendant sent the boy a friend request on social media.
Lisa Matthews, prosecuting, said he "felt special", adding: "She started to take him out to parks, including the Olympic Park, they went on strolls and out for meals. He appeared to be besotted with her."
The court heard the pair had seven sexual encounters, starting when McBrearty took the youngster to her home.
On other occasions, the teacher booked a hotel room for sex and performed sex acts in a garage and her car, it was said.
She also kissed the pupil in a classroom. The court heard the relationship came to an end when the victim's dad contacted police.
Emma Sharron, defending, said: "This is a young lady who has had a spectacular fall from grace - university educated, comes from a respectable family - she has been utterly disgraced by this."
She told the judge her client "is not sexually attracted to children".
But she added: "She will of course be branded a paedophile for the rest of her life. She is a sex offender."
The barrister continued: "She has not been able to get a decent job that matches her qualifications. She has of course resigned from the teaching profession.
"She has been working on a zero-hours contract delivering parcels to Amazon."