Southwark science teacher jailed for having sex with pupil, 16, after buying girls alcohol at school prom

A Southwark science teacher who had sex with a 16-year-old pupil after buying a group of girls alcohol at the school prom has been jailed for three years.

Robert Hanna, 43, plied the youngsters with booze, then started a sexual relationship with one of the girls.

He met up with her at hotels and also helped her get better grades in physics during the four-month abuse, police said.

During a prom at the school in Southwark, south London, in 2018 he asked a group of pupils to meet up with him.

Hanna, who was a teacher at the school for around four years, then bought alcohol and met with a few of the girls, according to the Met Police.

He then regularly met with the 16-year-old pupil for sex, who he had helped with school work, the Met Police said.

Around four months later, the victim told Hanna she wanted to end the relationship, but he persuaded her to meet with him one more time where he then broke up with her.

She then told another teacher about what happened and the school immediately suspended Hanna and police were called in April 2019.

He was sacked by the school a month later.

When officers interviewed the defendant he denied having sex with the girl.

But investigators discovered hotel check in and check out confirmation, bank statements and phone evidence that backed up what she was saying.

At Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday, Hanna was jailed for three years for six counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.

He was found guilty by a unanimous verdict from the jury last month after a 12-day trial at the same court.

The defendant was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), banning him from having unsupervised contact with children.

Det Con Erica Slater, from the Met Police’s Central South Command, said after the hearing that Hanna “lied continuously” to officers and the jury.

She added: “This was a complex case where Hanna denied everything from the beginning and lied continuously throughout the case.

“However, the victim courageously remained steadfast in her evidence and following a thorough investigation his accounts were disproved.

“Today’s sentence highlights the severity of this case and I would encourage anyone who is a victim of or victim to sexual abuse in any context to contact police.

“We have specially trained officers to investigate as well as ensuring there is ongoing support provided to the victims.”