Derbyshire teacher who had sex with teen pupil – who was left ‘completely destroyed’ – given suspended sentence

On Monday, January 16 at Derby Crown Court, Ian Featherstone – of Pulford Drive, Leicestershire – admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.

The court heard how the 44-year old targeted his teenage victim, who was one of his pupils at a Derbyshire school. He was said to have groomed her through messages, as well as using a social media account, before their relationship turned physical – with the pair having sex.

The father-of-two began exchanging messages with the female pupil, which later turned to sexualised chat – with the pair sending each other intimate photographs.

In her impact statement, Featherstone’s victim told the court: “I didn’t realise what was happening, what he was doing, until someone told me that what he did was not normal. At the time it felt right, but also wrong.

“It felt right because I finally thought I had found someone who ‘wanted’ me. However, this never explained why I felt on edge and scared around him. I tried ignoring the sexual comments he made, but he always said more. This increased my fear, and I was always questioning if I could trust him. However, I did trust him, and that cost me everything.”

Featherstone told the girl not to save his contact details. Instead, she had them on a piece of paper she kept with her phone, so his wife of 14 years did not find out about the relationship. He also would communicate with her via a social media platform, again to avoid detection.

His victim said: “I lost my innocence. I never understood this concept until he did what he did. I have had to grieve that I have lost what it meant to be a teenager.

“I have had to leave school behind as the weight of pain was too heavy for me to carry on anyone. I was always crying, breaking down and having to get picked up everyday from school. He pushed my mental health to the limits. This completely destroyed me.

“I self-harmed to cope and even wrote suicide notes. I didn’t want to carry on anymore. The guilt, pain, sadness, and the constant abuse became too much.”

Addressing Featherstone directly, she continued, via her victim impact statement: “No amount of tears could explain the pain. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my confidence, and my own voice.

“You have no idea how worthless you made me feel. Always being too scared to say no, or not to do as you wanted. This always scared me. I knew in the end you would always have your way, no matter if I said no. This lives with me, it will never leave.”

Featherstone was handed a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and a six-month electronically monitored curfew confining him to his home address between 7.00pm and 5.00am. He was also told to attend a 45-day sex offender awareness programme and to attend 55 rehabilitation session with the probation service.

He must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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Detective Constable Sarah Parkin said: “Mitigation in court tried to explain away Featherstone’s offending, and even tried to paint him as the victim, but he is clearly a sexual predator who preyed on someone who should have been safe in his care.

“I would like to commend the bravery of the victim in coming forward and reporting this matter to the police.

“Anyone who is reading this and may have been the victim of sexual assault or abuse, please do speak to someone. There is help available. If you do feel able to contact the police we will always listen, investigate, and support you through the process.”