CHRISTOPHER SMITH FROM POULTON-LE-FYLDE JAILED FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES INVOLVING PUPILS IN BLACKPOOL
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the local community, Christopher Smith, a music teacher from Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool, Lancashire, has been sentenced to prison for engaging in inappropriate sexual relationships with two of his 15-year-old pupils.The incident, which unfolded over the course of a year, culminated in Smith being convicted and sentenced at Preston Crown Court on a recent Friday.
According to court proceedings, Smith, who was involved in teaching a school jazz band, developed a close friendship with the two teenage girls following a school trip to Europe during Easter last year.
This friendship extended beyond the classroom, with communication taking place via mobile phones and email, blurring the boundaries of appropriate teacher-student relationships.
The court heard that by the summer of the previous year, these friendships had escalated into sexual relationships.
The two girls involved, whose identities are protected for legal reasons, were students at a Lancashire school that also remains unnamed in the court records.
Prosecutor Jacob Dyer explained that both girls were part of the jazz band, and Smith’s role as their music teacher was central to the case.
He further detailed that the relationship with girl A appeared to deteriorate around September of that year.
Meanwhile, girl B continued to see Smith, especially on Monday nights when she was involved in the jazz band.
The circumstances surrounding these interactions were described as very similar by the prosecution.
Concerned parents, particularly girl B’s mother, became suspicious after hearing rumors of a sexual relationship.
She insisted on meeting with Smith, which led to police interviews with both girls.
During these interviews, one girl admitted to hugging and kissing Smith, and both eventually confirmed they had engaged in sexual activity with him.
Smith was subsequently interviewed by police on February 17 and admitted to the allegations.
In court, Smith pleaded guilty to seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with the two girls.
His defense, represented by Rachael Woods, argued that Smith was not technically a teacher at the time but was working as a technician and musical instructor.
Woods described Smith as an emotionally immature individual who recognized that his actions were “unacceptable and entirely inappropriate.” Judge Peter Openshaw, QC, the Recorder of Preston, sentenced Smith to a total of eighteen months in prison—nine months for unlawful sex with girl A and nine months for girl B, with the sentences to run consecutively.
Additionally, Smith was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and received a ban from working with young children for at least ten years.
The judge emphasized the breach of trust involved, stating, “Parents send their children to school safe in the knowledge that sexual contact between teacher and pupil is universally known as entirely forbidden.
It was your duty and responsibility to avoid these situations, instead you took advantage of them.
Now you must pay the price.”
