Primary school teacher groomed teenage girl in Portsmouth

Ex-deputy head teacher at a primary school, John Kemp, 42, who has been jailed for grooming and having sexual activity with a child

Trusted John Kemp has been jailed by a judge after the 42-year-old used Kik instant messaging to find, groom and then sexually abuse the young girl in a hotel in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Kemp booked a room in the Holiday Inn in the city and committed a string of sex offences against her – all after winning her trust by telling her he was a teacher.

The girl, 14, struck up the courage to tell her family after being left confused by what Kemp had done and he was later arrested.

But when released on bail he spoke to her again, booked a hotel room and travelled down from Manchester for a second time – but was arrested by waiting police.

Officers found condoms and a Valentine’s Day card in his bag when he was arrested.

Jailing Kemp for seven years, judge Roger Hetherington said: ‘You were deliberately seeking out, for some reason, a young girl. You came into contact with her and over some seven weeks groomed her by a series of texts and telephone calls.

‘Undoubtedly the fact that you were a senior teacher will have played a part in the trust and the confidence that she misguidedly thought she could place in you.’

The judge said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left confused about what happened and about her feelings for Kemp, who worked in Manchester.

Matthew Lawson, prosecuting, said Kemp ‘manipulated’ the girl schoolgirl who had an ‘adolescent crush’ on him.

In a victim personal statement read by Mr Lawson the girl’s father told how she took an overdose on paracetamol.

He added: ‘She doesn’t know whom she can trust.’

The judge added: ‘One of the worst features of this case is that that was her first experience of sexual intercourse.’

He said she girl had ‘summoned up courage’ to report what happened.

The judge added the girl looked up to Kemp because of his job.

Kieran Galvin, defending, ‘There’s a degree of honesty when Mr Kemp says he knew it was wrong and was a victim of his ignorance and folly. He did express remorse.’

Kemp, of Barlow Moor Road, Manchester, previously admitted two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming and eight counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was sentenced to five years for the eight counts and two years for both of the grooming charges. One of those terms, committed while Kemp was on bail, was ordered to run consecutively to the rest of the sentence.

Kemp was banned from contacting any girls under 16 and the victim for life under a sexual harm prevention order. Kemp is also on the sex offenders register for life.