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Teacher who had sex with boy, 14, 'just wanted to help', dad says

A teaching assistant convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old student in a supermarket parking lot has been defended by her dad.

Hannah Harris, 23, met the boy at a school in Hertfordshire, near London, where she began working in 2018.

On Tuesday, Harris was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child, BBC reports.

She faced four charges of sexual activity with a child in December 2019 and January 2020, but was cleared of three by the jury.

Hannah Harris lounging in a chair and posing for a selfie.
Teaching assistant Hannah Harris, 23, met the boy at a school in Hertfordshire, near London. Source: Facebook

The teaching assistant will be sentenced in March. She must register as a sex offender.

Harris’ dad Jason has spoken out after his daughter’s conviction, vowing to file an appeal.

“We’re not giving up on her,” he told The Sun.

“I don’t believe what came out in court.

“She shouldn’t have been doing that job. She was too young. She was in the job because she wanted to help people, that’s what she does, she helps people.”

Harris was hired to work in the school’s IT department before moving into a teaching assistant role.

The 23-year-old told police the student had first contacted her on Instagram and they talked before agreeing to meet in person outside of school, The Sun reports.

Harris smiling in a selfie and posing in front of a Las Vegas fountain.
The teaching assistant will be sentenced in March. She must register as a sex offender. Source: Facebook

Woman pretended to be mum of teen

The court heard that Harris told the boy’s parents her name was Olivia and that she was the mum of his fake teenage girlfriend Kayla, the BBC reports.

“Seems Kayla and [the boy] are getting on well, so I am happy to ferry them around,” she texted them.

The boy admitted Olivia and Kayla were made up when his older brother found out about the relationship in January 2020.

“When the parents became aware, they realised they had unwittingly facilitated the contact,” prosecutor Simon Wilshire said.

“They had been duped by the boy into the belief he was seeing someone of his own age.”

Harris has since returned to a job in IT and will likely have to serve some jail time, the judge warned.

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