A former teacher and Wick Sex Offender, Natasha Smith, has received a term for sexually assaulting a teenage student at one of the institutions where she was employed.
Natasha Smith, 35, a former police officer, admitted guilt to engaging in sexual behaviour with a minor while serving as an adult in a position of trust.
The offence occurred approximately 12 years ago, as stated before Hove Crown Court, and Natasha Smith refuted three more charges that Judge Christine Henson instructed to remain on the record.
Natasha Smith, residing on North Street in Wick, Littlehampton, began her career as a kitchen technician before becoming a cover supervisor at Angmering High School, when she encountered the adolescent.
Natasha Smith commenced teaching at Durrington High School but resigned while the offence was under investigation by Sussex Police.
Natasha Smith had served as a police constable, but the court was informed that she is currently employed as a delivery driver following her departure from her teaching position.
The court received testimony from the young woman, now in her twenties, who was subjected to grooming and abuse; she currently resides in Worthing and is employed by a charity. Her identity is safeguarded by legislation.
She read a victim impact statement and said: “It’s hard to explain what it does to you when someone who had all the power, age, authority, experience, chooses not to protect or guide you, but to exploit your vulnerability for their own gain.
“At the time, I had just turned 17. I had only just completed my GCSEs.”
She said that she was insecure and deeply vulnerable and that Smith took advantage of her for four years.
She told the court: “What I naively thought was love was something I didn’t even have the tools to understand – and only left me confused about what a healthy relationship should look like and my own self-worth.
“Most of my twenties were spent untangling that damage. I believed I wasn’t worthy of real love. That I had to accept crumbs. That being treated with kindness or respect was asking too much.
“And I remember wondering if being loved meant losing every piece of myself just to feel chosen.
“But meeting my wife changed that. I knew the moment I met her that love feels completely different.
“She’s shown me what care looks like when it isn’t laced with control or fear. She is nothing like you.
“I’d been conditioned to believe I didn’t deserve safety or security. And that kind of trauma doesn’t just go away.”
She told the court that she had struggled with “constant feelings of shame” and had turned down opportunities to achieve her ambitions as a direct effect of the trauma resulting from the abuse.
It had led to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), requiring medication “just to get through the day”.
She said: “There will never be enough space in this statement to list everything I’ve lost:
- the loss of career opportunities and financial security
- the loss of trust in others and in myself
- the financial loss
“At one point I was paying £240 a month for over a year seeing a specialist psychotherapist. And worst of all, (at one point) I reached such a dark place that I made an attempt on my own life.
“I wasn’t sure how to keep living with the way I was feeling. I couldn’t enjoy the joy of love without second-guessing it. I couldn’t see a future that didn’t feel broken.
“This case is not one of a fleeting lapse in judgment. Four years is every ounce intentional, prolonged and deliberate.
“No matter what sentence is handed down today, you will carry the truth of what you did to me for the rest of your life.”
Judge Henson imposed an 18-month community order, requiring Natasha Smith to complete 80 hours of unpaid work within 12 months and up to 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
Natasha Smith was also ordered to pay £900 compensation and a victim surcharge of £60 and told that she must register as a SEX OFFENDER for five years.
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