A DISGRACED teacher from Dursley who had a five-year affair with a pupil which produced a child was jailed for a year.

Simon Parsons, of Uley Road, Dursley, who began the relationship when the girl was a teenager, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

His wife told the court: “He is not a monster. He is a gentle man who made a massive mistake.”

Parsons, who was the head of drama at The Castle School, in Thornbury, began the sordid relationship when the girl was 17 and had sex with her both at the school and his home.

The fling continued for two years after she left school, and the married teacher even fathered her child when she was in her early 20s.

On Tuesday, January 20, Parsons, 52, was handed the maximum 12 months behind bars.

Judge Neil Ford QC said: "It is important that those in a position of trust who engage in sexual intercourse with a child in their care must appreciate that they are facing a sentence of immediate custody, especially when the activity involves sexual intercourse.

He added: "You know and fully accept that your behaviour was wholly inappropriate and in gross breach of trust in your position as a teacher.

In addition to the custodial sentence, Parsons was barred from working with children and the vulnerable for life.

The court heard the girl described feeling "confused and lost" and said she felt "let down by a teacher whom she looked up to and "trusted".

Speaking after the hearing the girl's mum said: "Every parent sends their child to school where they expect them to be safe.

"To find out that school is the very place your child was abused is a very horrifying ordeal for your daughter and indeed all of your family to have gone through."

Bristol Crown Court heard Parsons met the girl when he became her teacher when she was just 13, though they did not begin a sexual relationship until she was 17.

James Ward, prosecuting, said in a previous hearing that sexual intercourse had taken place within the school.

He added: "She acknowledged she did have a crush on the defendant and thought it was maybe her fault that this happened.

"Eventually she thought to herself, 'well this is a relationship then'."

The relationship ultimately went sour and the complainant was interviewed by police, aged 24, after she was encouraged to do so by her aunt in order to protect children as he was still teaching.

When Parsons, 52, was arrested he admitted the improper relationship and admitted having intercourse with the girl from when she was aged 17.

Despite his years of deceit his wife of 12 years sensationally told the court she was standing by him, insisting he was "not a monster".

David Scutt, defending, said: "He accepts responsibility for what he has done. He thought it was something that had been wanted and pursued.

"He thought, wrongly, that it was mutual."

He added: "His wife says since the relationship with the girl finished - and she bore it - the family unit has got closer and closer.

"He has lost his self-esteem and feels constantly humiliated."

Parsons, speaking from his converted barn home on Monday, January 19, said it was a "very upsetting" time for him and his family and that his wife did not wish to talk about it.