Teacher smeared by pupil's sex lie wants to be a lawyer

A TEACHER who was cleared in court of having sex with a pupil today told how she wanted to become a lawyer to "help other people going through a similar ordeal".

Hannah McIntyre, 25, who lived in Stockbridge and attended the prestigious Fettes School, said she would not return to teaching because she could "never trust pupils again" after the 16-year-old teenager claimed he had slept with her.

But Miss McIntyre, who was teaching classics at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School in Merseyside, vowed that something positive would come out of the "nightmare" experience that left her "incandescent with rage".

She said: "I have spent the last year and a half thinking of nothing but this case. I can hardly believe it is over.

"I think a lot of people knew there was no way I was guilty from the start, but now it has been proven that they are liars and I can move on. I need a very big holiday.

"It wouldn't be fair for me to go back to teaching, not for at least 30 years. But after the whole court experience and following the legal processes involved, I have become fascinated with this career and would like to get into law. My barrister was a wonderful but scary woman. She was a real inspiration."

Miss McIntyre added that she believed the teenager should "face the consequences of his actions". She said: "The boys involved had been in trouble at school numerous times before. The day that the boy accused me of sleeping with him, he was facing indefinite suspension. An hour later, I was in the headmaster's office facing this nightmare.

"But my family, friends and colleagues have been very supportive. One of my former pupils was even in court to see the hearing."

Miss McIntyre was accused of sleeping with the 16-year-old pupil in January 2008. But on Thursday, a jury took just 75 minutes to clear her of unlawful sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.

On the night in question, the boys had arrived at her flat and "barged" in, despite the fact she was dressed only in her pyjamas. She gave them two bottles of cider in the hope that they would leave. She reported that they had been "intimidating" and that her accuser had forced his way into her bedroom and made grunting, sexual noises "for a laugh".

Miss McIntyre said she had been scared by their actions and had wanted them to leave. She reported that the teenager had even kissed her "without her consent, for a bet".

Following her ordeal, Miss McIntyre, who won a music scholarship to study at Fettes and was born in Falkirk, said she would take a holiday, which would include a trip up to Edinburgh. She said: "After a very long, relaxing break, I am looking forward to the future. But my teaching career is undoubtedly in ruins because of dangerous lies."