October 2007

Teacher free after schoolgirl sex

A MARRIED music teacher who had sex with a schoolgirl 30 years his junior walked free from court today.

Steven Whitfield, 47, began a relationship with the teenager when she was 16 and waited until six weeks before her 18th birthday to have sex with her.

The pair then had sex “many, many” times before the girl turned 18 in March 2006 and he had taken intimate photographs of her, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The affair began when Whitfield taught the girl music at a Northumberland school and she began babysitting for his children, prosecutor Amanda Rippon said.

Whitfield’s wife Alison discovered her husband’s mobile phone and found hundreds of intimate text messages between the pair and questioned him about the relationship.

One text message said the balding defendant wanted to pour champagne over the teenager’s body.

Whitfield denied anything inappropriate had happened and told his wife it was “no more than flirting”.

In February 2005 Mrs Whitfield contacted the girl’s parents who were shocked to discover of the blossoming relationship between their then 16-year-old daughter and her teacher.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, promised her parents she would not see Whitfield again.

But in June a “sexually explicit” letter the pair had sent each other was discovered and the girl’s mother confronted her again. The teenager – now 17 – admitted she was in a relationship with Whitfield.

The school also became involved and a senior member of staff warned Whitfield to stay away from the girl, the court was told.

“It is clear that sexual activity had taken place before her 18th birthday and the relationship had become sexual in January 2006 and had sexual intercourse on many many occasions before her 18th birthday and maintained their relationship after her 18th birthday,” Ms Rippon said.

But it was not until June 2006 that a complaint was made to the police and Whitfield was suspended from his job.

The prosecutor told the court: “She told the police of the relationship but said it had been entirely consensual and she didn’t want to pursue a complaint.”

Ms Rippon added that the girl, who is now 19, had moved on with her life.

“She has gone to university, started another relationship and finds the whole series of events embarrassing and upsetting,” she said.

At an earlier hearing Whitfield pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent image of a child and one of abuse of trust causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The victim is classed as a child in law under the Protection of Children Act and the Sexual Offences Act.

Whitfield, of Manor Gardens, Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, returned to court today for sentencing.

Sohail Mohammed, defending, said: “He is remorseful for what happened and that he didn’t take the advice at the time.

“With hindsight he does instruct me to say that he will never do this again. His whole life has fallen apart.”

His marriage of 23 years has fallen apart and he is now living away from the family home in North Shields and his wife is seeking a divorce.

Whitfield, wearing a smart suit, shirt and tie, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, given 250 hours’ community service,

placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and banned from working with children indefinitely.

Passing sentence, Judge John Evans said that both Whitfield and the teenager were “infatuated” with each other but he was not passing an immediate custodial sentence.

“Had you engaged in (sexual activity) six weeks later it would not have been an offence at all,” he told the defendant.

“This was in any case an appalling breach of trust. By reason of this conviction you will never be in a position to abuse this position of trust again, you will be disqualified from working with children indefinitely.”