Teacher Kisses 13-Year-Old Girl and Walks Free

Music teacher, Sam Webb admitted charges of sexual activity with a thirteen year old girl. The teacher did not serve active jail time for his crime.

Webb was a highly respected music master who worked in schools in the Kent area. He also worked as a special needs counselor who discusses personal problems at Hartsdown College in Margate.

Directing school plays and giving music lessons put Webb in the midst of hundreds of students. Thousands more children were exposed to Webb after he received a job promotion as an "advanced skills teacher" in the fall of 2004.

An embarrassment to Webb's former school where he was popular with students, the case has stirred suspicion and concern in parents. Hartsdown College has deleted all links and references to Webb from the site. Since Webb's first appearance in court last year, the school's official position has been "no comment."

The thirty-four year old father of one child sent an astonishing 2000 text messages to the girl's cellular phone. His actions were discovered as a result of the increase in the girl's cell phone bill. Prosecutor Simon Clark told Canterbury Crown Court how the girl's parents were shocked by the sudden increase. The girl's mother investigated the reason her daughter's bill was over eight times higher than average.

Clark informed the court that Webb met the child last year when his estranged wife, who is also a teacher, introduced them at a drama club. Webb extended an invitation for the girl to join activities at his school and succeeded in getting the teen's cell phone number. Clark said Webb's first contact on a kids Internet chat room was "perfectly innocent." Later, text messages became "more flirtatious" when he asked the girl to clean his office.

According to Clark, Webb was "texting her every day and she was responding every day. Over 2,000 texts were sent in that short period of time. The girl says she felt sorry for him. He had recently split up with his wife. He invited her to his home because he said he had a present for her - and told her he missed her and he loved her. On a couple of occasions they would be in situations where she would be uncomfortable about the way he told her he loved her."

Clark further informed the courts, "She didn't feel the same but didn't want to hurt to him. On several occasions he took her by the hand. She was on the bed hugging and kissing him. She felt uncomfortable and frightened by that but she didn't want to upset him. During the time they were seeing each other he asked her to send a picture of herself."

Webb has stated one of his "hobbies is lusting after unattainable women." He also joined many dating web sites stating he was, "married but looking."

Of this case, Webb told police, "He felt low and had come to rely on the girl's messages to keep going." Webb admitted it was inherently wrong to continue pursuing the girl. He also takes credit for "ending the relationship himself."

Defense attorney Peter Alcock portrayed Webb as a man of former good character. Admitting guilt, Webb only wants to move forward with his life. Since the incident, he has moved to Oxford and works at a bar. Webb was given community order with supervision for a duration of three years as well as ordered to attend a sex offenders rehab course. He will also remain on the sex offenders' register for a period of five years.

Judge Nigel van der Bijl told Webb some people would say he should be jailed - but he believed the community punishment would be more effective. Warning Webb on his conduct, the judge stated, "Young girls - and boys - need protecting from themselves and as a teacher you should have known that. If you start fancying a 13-year-old girl because you have emotional problems that you can't cope with then you are going to get yourself into considerable trouble and it will result in a substantial custodial sentence."