A Church of England school teacher who ran away to France with a 15 year-old pupil has been jailed for five and a half years.
Earlier, the 30 year-old admitted five charges of sexual activity with a child - the day after Lewes Crown Court convicted him of abduction. The judge has now banned Forrest from working with children forever.
Simon Bass from the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service tells Premier it's been a tragic outcome for all involved:
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Ling led the investigation for Sussex Police:
"Jeremy Forrest has been jailed today after grossly abusing the trust placed in him.
"After months of sexual abuse he abducted a 15 year-old pupil leaving her family distressed not knowing what had happened to her.
"He was in a position of responsibility, authority and trust over children in his care."
Meanwhile, Bishop Bell school has defended the way in which it handled the situation from the outset.
In a statement Terry Boatwright, Executive Headteacher, said:
"As a school community we have been saddened by the events which led up to this trial and the impact they have had on all concerned.
"We remain deeply shocked by the actions of Mr Forrest and his betrayal of the trust that was placed in him. It is important that the strongest possible message is sent to all who work with children that they hold a position of responsibility and trust for the lives, and wellbeing, of those in their care.
"We take our responsibility extremely seriously and our safeguarding policies and procedures are robust. However, we are determined to implement any learning from these events to ensure that all pupils at the school are as safe as they possibly could be.
"In terms of our investigations, until September 2012, the school only had very limited anecdotal hearsay and no evidence of a relationship. However, even so, everything was investigated following appropriate safeguarding procedures.
"Prior to the events of September 2012 and the formal child protection investigation that took place then, the school had investigated reported concerns, involving the Local Authority at the appropriate points and following its advice.
"At no point did the school find evidence of a relationship and at no point did the reported concerns reach the threshold to involve the police formally.
"The police became formally involved in September 2012 when further, and more serious, concerns were raised.
"At that point, in line with standard practice, the school shared its information with the police and other agencies.
"Even then, having that information and after investigating more serious concerns than the school had received, the police informed the school that they too had found no evidence to support arresting Mr Forrest and handed the matter back to the school.
"At that point, it was the school's intention to refrain Mr Forrest from work whilst it undertook a further investigation of its own into possible professional misconduct. However, Mr Forrest never returned to work after 19th September."