Teacher to wed girl he was jailed for abducting

The girl, who has written to Forrest’s parents to declare her love for their son, also intends to visit him in prison.

Forrest, 30, was jailed at Lewes Crown Court for five and a half years on Friday for child abduction and five charges of sexual activity with a child, after he fled to France with the girl when she was 15.

But Forrest’s sister Carrie Hanspaul, 33, told reporters that during a prison visit he told his parents: “I love her and we want to get married.”

The girl has already spoken of her determination to keep her relationship with Forrest going, and her father told The Sun Sunday he condoned her plans to see him in prison, saying he wanted to as well.

“I’d be proud to walk my daughter down the aisle with the man she loves. I honestly believe he loves my daughter and she’s besotted with him. She has made it clear she wants a future with him.

“Hopefully with good behaviour he may be freed on parole after a few years.”

Ms Hanspaul told the Mail on Sunday she didn’t see the relationship between her brother and the girl as “predatory or grooming”, and that Forrest had told their father that he is happier now than he has been for a couple of years.

The teenager has written a letter to Forrest’s parents, in which she apologises for “any upset I have caused” and makes clear that her feelings for him cannot be changed, the Mail on Sunday 
said.

In a five-page note, she says: “I can’t emphasise enough how everything I feel towards Jeremy is – more than anything – serious... he is wonderful.

“I understand that when Jeremy comes home there will be things to sort out and the main concern will be making sure that Jeremy is able to cope and adjust to living in the outside world again.

“Obviously I now and will continue in the future to stand by him. I do believe that some things are worth fighting for. For now, though, I’m going to concentrate on working hard to get the future both me and Jeremy want and I’m preparing for college.

“Jeremy will be pleased to know I have been accepted on an A-level maths course – maybe he would find it comical as maths was my worst subject at school.”

Forrest’s parents told the Mail on Sunday that their son “knows he’s been stupid”, and is “paying for a mistake”.