A TEACHER who “took away the innocence” of a vulnerable teenager when he groomed her for sex has been jailed.

Simon Shaw was sentenced to one year in prison after admitting to having sex with a child when he appeared in Winchester Crown Court on April 7.

Appearing before Judge Keith Cutler, the court heard how the 42-year-old was a teacher at Andover Education Centre when he began conducting a sexual relationship with a girl, under the age of 16.

Speaking after the hearing, the victim’s mother said: “I think the sentence is disgusting.

“One year does not reflect what an awful time our family has had; it’s been a nightmare.

“My daughter has had a very difficult time dealing with what happened to her.

“She genuinely thought he loved her.”

She continued: “He took her innocence away from her and he gets one year for that.

“We are disappointed with the sentence and we are going to try to move on with our lives, but how do you recover from that?

“She was vulnerable.

“You think your child is going to be safe and she wasn’t, she was groomed.

“He ruined her life.”

Shaw, of Chute, was also placed on the sex offender register for 10 years and given a restraining order to stay away from the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and her family.

Commenting on the seriousness of the offence, the police officer in charge of the case Detective Constable Timothy McSpadden said: “Shaw embarked on an inappropriate relationship with a child.

“These offences are taken extremely seriously and this is reflected in the fact that Shaw has now received a custodial sentence.”

Andover Education Centre is run by Hampshire County Council (HCC) and is part of the Education Inclusion Service working in partnership with the seven secondary schools in the area to provide continuing education for pupils who are not in mainstream schooling.

A spokesperson for HCC said: “The county council is pleased that Mr Shaw has been brought to justice.

“From the time that allegations relating to Mr Shaw first came to light, the county council has worked closely with the police in their investigation.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said after the hearing: “His actions will have had a hugely damaging effect on his vulnerable young victim and we hope she has received support to get her life back on track.

“Hopefully the sentencing will give his victim and her family some measure of closure.”