Stacey Reriti was in her late 20s when she began grooming a ten year old boy in her class.
She sent the boy sexual messages on a phone she had given him, drove him to car parks and a motel for sexual encounters, and even told him they were ‘in love’ in order to keep him silent.
The relationship went on for three years, and was only discovered when another teacher found the messages.
Later, the boy told the court that they were ‘like normal couples’ and would text each other in the morning saying I love you, and shared explicit photos.
In October, Stacey was found guilty of seven sexual abuse offences, and she has now been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison.
Reriti denies she sexually assaulted the boy, saying she would ‘never do that to a child.’
The defence argued that there was no evidence that the two had ever been alone together, bar the words of a ‘troubled child.’