Lesbian teacher who kissed schoolgirl, 14, in stationery cupboard and became obsessed with her is jailed for ‘sordid little secret’ affair

Rachel Speed, 41, taught science at Fairview High School in South Wales

She would have 'sleepovers' with the pupil and gave her expensive gifts

But Speed was dumped by text when the pupil went to university



'Sordid': Rachel Speed, 41, arrives at Cwmbran Magistrates Court for a hearing earlier in the year. She has now been sentenced to two years in jail

A woman teacher was jailed for two years today for having a 'years-long' secret lesbian relationship with one of her pupils.



Rachel Speed, 41, started the ‘sexual relationship’ after kissing the girl in a school stationery cupboard when she was just 14.



Speed would pick up the girl in her car and drive her to her house where they had ‘sleepovers’ several times a week.



Prosecutor Christopher Rees told her: ‘You abused her trust while she was 14.



‘You did not want her parents to know because then they would know your sordid little secret.



‘You were clearly obsessed with her - even when she went to university.’



Speed, wearing jeans and a heavy sweater, had already been warned by Judge Wynn Morgan that she was going to prison.



Sentencing Speed to two years jail, Judge Morgan told her: ‘You were in a position of trust in relation to the girl - you were her teacher.



‘Teachers are not allowed to have sex with their pupils. Everybody knows that.



‘You were a mature person while she was an impressionable and vulnerable child who was unpopular at school.



‘She was bound to respond to the attentions of a popular teacher.’



The court heard the girl was bullied at school and Speed started texting the girl and sending her online messages before inviting her for a sleepover.

Speed, who had taught science at Fairview High School in Cwmbran, south Wales, for 15 years, carried on the relationship until the girl went to university.



The pair would share a bed, shower together and perform ‘sex acts’ on each other several times a week.



The court heard how the relationship was uncovered when the girl's mother found an 'inappropriate' letter from Speed.

Speed promised the victim's parents to stop their relationship, but continued it anyway until she was dumped

When they found out about the sleepovers, they went to Speed's house to collect items belonging to the victim. The court heard Speed told them: 'You're not going to like it but I love your daughter.'



The parents made Speed sign a contract in exchange for not going to the school or the police.



She agreed she would end the relationship until the girl was 21 or after she finished full-time education - but she broke her promise.



The girl’s mum said: ‘I felt sick and angry. My daughter was a child. How could she have her sleep over at her house?’



Speed, of Hengoed in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, gave the girl an engagement ring and a car when she went to university.



But the court heard how the pupil dumped her teacher by text after she met someone new.



She then reported Speed, who was accused of indecent assault and sexual activity while in a position of trust.

Speed began her relationship with the child while she was a pupil at Fairwater High School (pictured)

Speed, of Hengoed in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, gave the girl an engagement ring and a car when she went to university. But the court heard how the pupil dumped her teacher by text after she met someone new

Speed’s lawyer Peter Harding-Roberts told the court: ‘The situation sprung from an initial act of kindness from the defendant.



‘The relationship continued until the girl was 20 - it was a genuine loving relationship.



Speed, who was found guilty after denying the charges, has lost her job at Fairwater High School in Cwmbran, near Newport.



She was placed on the sexual offences register for ten years and under, a sexual offences prevention order, was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with a child under the age of 18.

