A school pastoral support worker has been jailed for six months for sex offences with a teenage girl.

Shaun Burford was told by a judge he regarded his case as exceptional but added it was not so exceptional that he could suspend the sentence.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the 41-year-old married father was promoted to team leader of pupil services at Christ Church School in Ashford.

Caroline Knight, prosecuting, said Burford’s first duty was to "demonstrate the devotion of the school’s Christian ethos".

Burford, whose wife Angela was head of history at the school, received a text from a girl, aged 13, on Christmas Eve 2007 telling him: "Have a great Christmas."

"The conversation moves on to being sexually explicit and culminates in him encouraging her to send photographs of herself," said Miss Knight. "They talk about their sexuality.

"He talks about being bisexual and she says she is too.

"He says he can’t stop thinking about her and encourages her to send indecent photographs of herself.

"He said he loved them even better in lingerie."

The prosecutor said the former soldier and the girl continued to talk on MSN messaging and he sent her an obscene video clip of him having sex.

The girl sent back a photo of her naked from the waist up. The images were discussed in explicit terms.

"She asked if the pictures were OK," said the prosecutor. "He says: ‘Oh yes.’ She asked him if there was any particular one he liked.

"There was discussion about what he would like to do to her if they met."

The matter was reported to the police and Burford was arrested.

Miss Knight said the girl had since been "completely off the register" and it had not been possible to take an impact statement from her.

Burford, of Coombe Valley Road, Dover, admitted causing a child to watch a sexual act and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Leroy Redhead, defending, said as soon as Burford realised what he had got himself into, he tried to distance himself from the girl.

He had been drunk and depressed when he received the text. It was wrong to suggest he had targeted her, said Mr Redhead.

“He realises what he did was serious,” he said. “The offences started when he was at a low point in his life. He was drinking a lot and his guard was down.”

Mr Redhead said Burford went into the Army at the age of 17 and served his country proudly, including in Northern Ireland. His daughters had written to the court stating he was a good father.

Urging Judge Jeremy Carey to impose a suspended sentence, he said Burford was full of remorse and regret.

“He was a citizen people looked up to,” he said. “He is on anti-depressants. He has lost the one thing in his life he loved a great deal. He loved the job.

“He loved working with children. His job was to encourage those getting off the rails to get back on the rails.”

Mr Redhead said Burford and his wife were back together and she was supporting of him. He had found a new job.

“Prison would be very difficult for him,” he added.

Ex-Army Sgt Paul Wainwright described Burford as “a man of great integrity”.

He added he was “stunned and shocked” when he heard about the offences.
Neighbour Kelly Cooper told the court she considered Burford a decent man. “I have three children and would not hesitate to leave any of them in his care,” she said.