Sam Dickety , 23, a learning support assistant who has been jailed after repeatedly having sex with a 15-year-old pupil

A teaching assistant has been jailed for four years after repeatedly having sex with a 15-year-old pupil at the school.

Sam Dickety , 23, was pursued by the girl with notes and messages, with the pair having sex in the grounds of the Henry Beaufort School in Winchester, Hampshire over a five month period.

The father-to-be from Romsey in Hampshire, also gave the girl his phone number and email address, and in one message he sent her, he said he wished she wasn't 15.

He was only caught when a Facebook message to the girl was unintentionally sent to her parents and he was reported to police.

Dickety pleaded guilty to five of six charges relating to sexual activity with a child and was jailed at Winchester Crown Court.

The court heard how the girl had pursued Dickety with notes and messages with the pair having sex on school property over several months.

This continued until Dickety's birthday, when the girl asked another pupil to deliver a birthday card to him.

The card read: ' I love you so much and you mean everything to me, you are my handsome Sam. Ps, you'll get your present on Thursday haha.'

But the card was intercepted by the girl's mother, who reported it to the school.'

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, said: ' The headmistress spoke to Mr Dickety, who at that stage said nothing had happened anyway.

'He was reminded of the safeguarding rules and warned not to have one-on-one contact with her thereafter.'

But Dickety and the girl continued to meet in a teachers-only area of the secondary school to have sex for another two months.

Ms Marlow added: 'This came to light during the school holidays because there was a message on Facebook, which is the parents' because they will not allow her to have her own, from him asking whether she was going to be in a particular location that day.'

But Rina-Marie Hill mitigating said: 'The impact of this will stay with him for the rest of his life and he will pay the consequences for the rest of his life.'

As he was jailed for four years, Dickety's girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child, wept in the public gallery.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life and was disqualified from working with children and vulnerable people.

Dickety was working at the Henry Beaufort School in Winchester, Hampshire when he began the relationship with the pupil

Sentencing, Judge Susan Evans QC said: 'You took advantage of your 15-year-old victim. You groomed her.

'The location is an aggravating factor because it was on school property and most seriously, you failed to respond to the warning you were given.'

Meanwhile Sue Hearle , headteacher at Henry Beaufort School, said she was appalled by the 'dreadful' breach of trust by Dickety .

She said: 'When the allegations against Mr Dickety were brought to my attention, I suspended him.

'He was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct.

'The safety and well-being of our students is an absolute priority. Our staff are fully aware of the safeguarding protocol and the need for vigilance.

'Pupils are aware of who they can talk to if they think they or one of their peers may be vulnerable whether that is within school or outside school.'



