Overview
- Simon Taylor, 43, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years at Norwich Crown Court and placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
- He had pleaded guilty to five offences, including sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, two sexual assaults, and two counts of sexual communication with a child.
- Prosecutors said the grooming spanned more than two years, starting at Hethersett Academy and continuing after the victim left the school.
- After a written warning over school-platform messages, Taylor shifted to email and phone, sent explicit images, and threatened self-harm to coerce pictures.
- In her statement the victim said her childhood was stolen, the judge said Taylor ignored warnings and caused immeasurable harm, and the defence cited his post-Army mental health struggles.