Teenager convicted of sexual assault of classmate 'allowed to stay at same school'

A schoolboy convicted of sexually assaulting a female classmate has been allowed to stay at the same school despite a restraining order.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and put on the sex offenders register, the BBC reported.

However, despite the teenager being handed a restraining order following the youth court proceedings, he was allowed to carry on studying alongside his victim.

The school insisted it had followed all procedures correctly.

His victim told the broadcaster: "I have to just keep my head down, pretend he's not there, otherwise it makes me panic."

The schoolgirl was targeted with gradually escalating harassment by her classmate, until he eventually began putting his hands up her skirt and touching her chest.

"I wanted to leave but I felt like I couldn't do anything. I felt powerless, like I was stuck,” she told BBC Inside Out East.

Schools are required by guidelines to handle claims of sexual assault and the conviction of a pupil on a “case by case basis”.

However, the parents of the victim, from Essex, condemned the decision to allow the boy to continue studying at the same school.

Her mother said: "I think the day he was found guilty he should have been excluded.

"He should not be allowed near my daughter or any woman right now.

“I worry every single day, even now. I don't feel the boy was adequately punished at all."

The schoolgirl said the guilty verdict had been a “massive weight off my shoulders”, but expressed concern about the apparent lack of regard for her wellbeing post-conviction.

She said: "I thought I wasn't going to see him. They said I'm their main priority. "