A teacher groomed, indecently assaulted and raped a girl who went to the school where he worked, a jury found.
Science teacher Steven Hardie, 65, was sacked from his job for grooming a girl at the school but he went on trial for sexually abusing a second girl.
Sarah Lindop, prosecuting, told the jury at Lewes Crown Court that he raped the girl more than 20 years ago while he was a teacher at Bexhill High School but after she had left the school.
The jury convicted him of two charges of rape, four counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child.
Sussex Police said: “A former East Sussex high school teacher has been convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a pupil at his school.
“In 2021, Sussex Police received intelligence that Steven Hardie, a former teacher at Bexhill High School had groomed and sexually abused pupils while working at the school.
“Hardie, 65, of Woodsgate Park, in Bexhill, was a science teacher at the school – now called Mulberry Academy Bexhill – between 1991 and 2007, when he was dismissed after receiving a police caution for grooming a female pupil. This conviction relates to a different victim.
“Following the receipt of intelligence in 2021, police seized Hardie’s electronic devices and found sexual messages between himself and a pupil at the school during his tenure.
“Now a woman in her thirties, the victim was contacted by police and disclosed sexual abuse by Hardie, starting when she was 15 years old, and reported being raped by him on two occasions after she had left the school.
“Hardie was arrested and charged with two counts of rape, four counts of indecent assault and three counts of indecency with a child.
“Following a trial at Lewes Crown Court concluding on Tuesday (25 August), Hardie was found guilty of all but one count of indecency with a child.”
Judge Joshua Swirsky remanded Hardie in custody to await sentence at the same court on Monday 26 October.
Detective Constable Rebecca Wilde said: “Steven Hardie used his position of trust to manipulate and prey on a teenage girl for his own sexual gratification.
“That teenage girl is now an adult woman who has helped bring her abuser to justice. I am extremely grateful to her for supporting this investigation and reconfronting these distressing events of her childhood.
“I would also like to thank the school who have fully supported this investigation.
“If you are a victim of sexual offending, no matter how long ago, please report it to us. We will support you and we will do everything we can to get you the justice you deserve.”
