Dodged prison: Caroline Berriman admitted having sex with a pupil - but wasn't jailed

A shamed teaching assistant has escaped jail despite confessing to having sex with a teenage student.

Caroline Berriman, 30, admitted that she had penetrative sex and oral sex with the boy while she was teaching at Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester.

Appearing at Manchester Crown Court this week, she was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to three child sex charges.

Berriman had been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a child, and a third sexual activity charges specifying she was in a position of trust.

The victim cannot be named for legal reasons.

As well as the suspended prison sentence, she was fined £100, must complete 250 community work and was hit with a restraining order stopping her from seeing the boy.

Her victim, who has since left the school, was not in court when Berriman was sentenced.

The court was told of at least two sex acts the pair engaged in, and that Berriman was fully aware the boy was not yet 16 so could not legally consent.

She was suspended from the school as soon as allegations were made against her, and first appeared in court in July. She later left the job.

However, Berriman fell ill during the trial, which had to be postponed.

Abraham Moss, in the Crumpsall suburb of Manchester, has 1,600 students aged five to 16 and was Manchester's first 'through school' with primary and secondary pupils together.

Abuse: Manchester Crown Court was told that Berriman knew her victim was under 16 so could not consent to sex

Moved on: Berriman, who worked at Abraham Moss Community School, was suspended then later left her job

According to Ofsted, the school 'requires improvement' - a downgrade from its 'good' rating the year before.

Headteacher Gillian Houghton said: 'Safeguarding pupils is a number one priority for us and we take it extremely seriously.

'This person was suspended as soon as the allegations came to light and no longer works at the school.'