Exeter teacher Roseanna Langley sentenced over sex with boy
A teacher who sent hundreds of text messages to a pupil and claimed to have miscarried his child has been told she will never work with children again.
Roseanna Langley, 24, a teacher at St James High School in Exeter, sent naked pictures of herself to seduce the 16-year-old boy, a court heard.
Langley of Willow Way, Exeter, admitted two offences of sexual activity with a male aged 13 to 17.
She received an eight month suspended sentence at Exeter Crown Court.
The court heard Langley was caught when rumours "swept through the school" where she worked and "torrid texts" showed she started a six-week relationship shortly after the boy turned 16, earlier this year.
'Selfish and manipulative'
When the boy tried to end the relationship she claimed to have miscarried his child in an attempt to exert emotional blackmail over him, the court was told.
She was sacked after admitting having sex with the student.
Langley, originally of Truro in Cornwall, was described as "selfish and manipulative" by Recorder Paul Dunkels, QC.
He said: "You lied and intimated you were pregnant with his child and had miscarried. That was manipulative emotional blackmail intended to put pressure on him.
"In my judgment it shows you were reckless not only with your own career and your liberty but careless for this boy's well being. You were selfishly exploiting him when you were in a position of trust."
Emily Pitts, prosecuting, said among the images sent to his phone, there were a "total of 1,500 messages" in which they spoke of "planning a future together with a home and a dog".
One text said "she did not care if she was fired if she could have him".
Kelly Scrivener, defending, said: "Things progressed and they formed a relationship but it was after he was 16 and never in the school environment.
"This was not a teacher preying on a vulnerable student. There was no pressure or coercion."
Langley was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid community work.
She will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and will be barred from working with children and young people indefinitely.