24 November 2023 , 22:27
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A teacher accused of repeatedly having sex with a "vulnerable" schoolgirl broke down in tears in court today as she was cleared of all charges.
Ellie Pattison, 29, was accused of befriending the 14-year-old pupil during her time working as a teaching assistant at a secondary school in East Sussex. The court was told they formed an "inappropriate relationship" which extended outside school.
The pair would continually text and call each other and then began to meet up outside school. But Pattison was accused of making the relationship sexual after picking up the schoolgirl in her silver Peugeot.
Pattison was eventually suspended by the school for the relationship and reported to the police. The teacher was charged with three counts of penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15. Prosecutor Sarah Lindop said she "abused her position of trust" and made the vulnerable complainant "believe it was a real relationship and that she loved her".
Pattison was eventually suspended by the school (David McHugh / Brighton Pictures)
Pattison sobbed as she left court following the two-week trial (David McHugh / Brighton Pictures)She was also charged with two further charges of non-penetrative sexual activity with the child at various locations in East Sussex. The offences are said to have happened between 2017 and 2018 when Pattison was 23 years old.
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Today the teacher broke down in tears as she was unanimously cleared of all five charges by a jury. Hove Crown Court heard Pattison regularly met the teenage girl - who she called "Bubs" - outside her school and took her for drives.
On one occasion she was said to have leaned over in her car and kissed the girl as she sat in the passenger seat. When she did not reciprocate she waited a few minutes and then tried again and the girl responded.
When police asked why she kissed her teacher back, the girl broke down in tears and said: "I didn't really have any feeling for her like that before. I didn't want it like that but I didn't want to lose her because she was the only thing I had."
When the school bosses heard Pattison had been meeting a vulnerable pupil outside school she was suspended and their relationship was exposed, Pattison was arrested by officers and admitted to being close to the teenager but denied anything sexual had ever taken place. She told officers: "No nothing like this ever happened."
Pattison, who was accompanied in court by a friend, sobbed as she left court following the two-week trial.