AN ABERYSTWYTH teacher and former mayor who started a sexual relationship with one of his teenage students after they exchanged messages on Instagram has avoided jail.
Calvin Charles Kingsbury – known as Charlie – appeared before Swansea Crown Court on 19 April.
Kingsbury, who served as Aberystwyth’s mayor in 2020/21 and represented Penparcau on Aberystwyth Town Council from 2017, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to charges of abusing a position of trust, inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17, and sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17 in Aberystwyth on 27 March last year.
The 29-year-old, formerly of 8 Clos Non, Llanbadarn, was a teacher at an Aberystwyth school and was married at the time of the offences.
The court heard that the student followed him on Instagram and Kingsbury sent her a message to say that he would have to remove her as a follower and they would speak about the issue at school.
The following day, after a lesson, Kingsbury spoke to the pupil and said he had concerns about how it might look if they followed each other on social media.
But also said that it would be okay if they kept it a secret.
He instructed her that if they messaged each other they should delete those messages after each conversation.
At Swansea Crown Court, prosecution barrister Alycia Carpanini said that after this point the messages from Kingsbury “turned flirtatious”.
He told the girl that her hair was “immaculate” and that he was surprised to learn that she was still a virgin.
Miss Carpanini told the court: “He said that he could not promise anything because he was still married. The defendant asked whether she (the victim) was seeing anyone else.”
Following further messages between the two, the court heard the girl intended to visit Kingsbury’s home.
He had told her to wear a hat so that she would not be seen and entered the property via the rear of the house.
Miss Carpanini told the court: “They started kissing. He was biting her lip and she was biting his. He told her that he did not have any condoms. The defendant told her they could do everything apart from vaginal sex.”
They then left for a downstairs study which had a mattress in it and both partially undressed.
In the study the court heard that the pair performed sex acts on each other.
When the student had left the property, Kingsbury sent her a message saying that she would need to be more cautious with regards to getting to his home.
Since the incident Kingsbury has left his job, and the area, and no longer works in education, the court heard.
According to a victim impact statement read out in court, the victim has “always been an anxious person”, and that “when everything was happening, I was anxious about keeping it a secret”.
She said that, when she ended the relationship, she did so because of the impact it was having on her education.
“Nobody was calling him a bad person but I realise now that what he did was wrong," she added.
In mitigation, defence barrister Dan Jones said Kingsbury had “no previous convictions whatsoever” and made “full admissions” regarding his offending when interviewed.
“He can never be a teacher again, that goes without saying,” Mr Jones said.
“It’s his own fault, he knows that.”
Summing up the case, Judge Catherine Richards told Kingsbury: “Over a very short period of time you and she entered into a relationship. You knew it was wrong. There was significant planning. You were giving instructions to her. I accept that you are remorseful. You admitted your guilt from the outset.”
“You are not a danger to the public. You have no history of appearances before this court and there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
Kingsbury was sentenced to 12 months in prison, a sentence which will be suspended for 18 months.
He must also complete 30 days of a rehabilitation requirement order and 180 hours of unpaid work. He must also sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for a period of 10 years and an order was imposed preventing him from making any contact with the victim for a period of three years.