London teacher jailed for lesbian affair with pupil

A woman teacher in London who had a lesbian affair with a pupil was sentenced on Thursday to a year in prison. Justine Rowe, 34, pleaded guilty to four counts of engaging in a sexual activity while in a position of trust at her school in Berkshire, west of London, between January and October 2002. The affair began with kisses and text messages when the girl was 15 and later became sexual. The age of sexual consent in Britain is 16. Judge Zoe Smith at Reading crown court barred Rowe from working with children and put her on a sex offender's register for 10 years. She said the English teacher was a "disgrace" to her school, which cannot be named for legal reasons. The pupil's identity was also withheld.