A teacher at a London school allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old pupil in empty classrooms across the campus, a court has heard. Stuart Kerner, 44, faces two counts of sexual activity with a child and six counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.
The alleged victim, a former student at Bexleyheath Academy in south-east London, was 15 when the affair is said to have begun, Inner London Crown Court was told. Prosecutor Warwick Tatford said what started as a schoolgirl crush turned into a full-blown sexual affair that was only uncovered in 2013.
On one occasion, Kerner allegedly drove the teenager to his home for an all-day sex session. 'This was a gross breach of trust; a teacher giving in to temptation,' Tatford said. 'She was anxious to have a relationship with him... but he was a senior teacher who took advantage of a vulnerable young girl who was besotted with him.'
Kerner's defence team will argue that the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is a 'devious and wicked liar'. The jury was told of an occasion when she pretended to have been in a traffic accident to get out of PE class and wore a bandage around her chest. However, the prosecution said independent evidence, including mobile phone records, school absentee logs and the girl's coded diary, supports her version of events.
Tatford said the girl would testify that in February 2012, when she was 16, she lost her virginity to Kerner in a classroom during school hours. Someone allegedly used Kerner's computer login details to change the official absentee record to suggest the girl had been present in class. Prosecutors allege Kerner doctored the records to cover up the illicit encounter.
