Teacher cleared of seducing pupil

Jenine Saville-King, 29, was cleared of seven counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of abuse of trust at St Albans Crown Court. Saville-King broke down in tears as the verdict was read out.

It had been alleged that Mrs Saville-King of Hook, Hampshire, began an affair with the boy, then aged 15, in 2004, but they did not have sex until after his 16th birthday. Mrs Saville-King maintained her innocence throughout the trial.

The court had been told the relationship lasted for more than a year, continuing even after she became pregnant by her husband Paul, 37, and gave birth to her first son.

Jurors were told that during the relationship, Mrs Saville-King allegedly became "dependent" on the teenager and exchanged 200 pages of MSN internet messages with him over the four-month period between July and October 2005. In addition the couple sent over 6,000 text messages to each other the court heard.

The teenager, who is now 18 but cannot be named for legal reasons, told the jury he had engaged in sexual activity with Mrs Saville-King in hotels and at her home while her husband was at work. He told the court he had been in love with Mrs Saville-King and claimed they had had sex "two to three times a week".

But the youngster admitted to the courtroom he had approached Mrs Saville-King, first asking for help with his maths GCSE coursework. He also admitted he had obtained her computer chat username after watching her use the MSN Messenger service. When asked if he had approached her for help as an excuse to be with her he replied: "yes".

Mrs Saville-King was teaching at a school in Watford, Hertfordshire, when she was alleged to have had the affair with the boy. She was originally taken on as a teaching assistant, but was soon promoted to assistant year leader and asked to cover classes when colleagues were absent.

During her trial Mrs Saville-King admitted "loving" the boy and being "emotionally connected" - but denied having sex with him or engaging in sexual activity.

She told the court: "We were just really, really emotionally connected. It was quite intense. We talked all the time about everything. He told me he loved me, I told him I loved him - but no sex." She described herself as the boy's last lifeline and added: "I was very fond of him - loved him even - but that's all it was."