‘Coercive and manipulative’ teacher, 51, stripped down to his ‘tiny jock strap’ in front of female 16-year-old pupil, court told

  • Peter Morse was a teacher at Bitterne Park School in Southampton

A high school teacher stripped down to his “little jockstrap” underwear in front of a female teenage student, a court heard.

Peter Morse, 51, was a teacher in his late 20s at the time of the alleged incident at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire.

The 16-year-old girl felt “trapped in her body” as Morse kissed her, made her take off her clothes and tried to perform sex acts on her, jurors were told.

Prosecutor Rose Burns told Southampton Crown Court how Morse would undress and perform multiple sex acts.

Morse denies two counts of sexual activity in a position of trust.

Peter Morse, 51, was a teacher in his late 20s at the time of the alleged incident at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire

The student was in love with Morse at the time but felt “scared” because it was her first sexual encounter, the court heard.

Jurors were told how she described Morse as ‘coercive and manipulative’ when he tried to perform a sex act on another occasion.

He would have kissed her too, because he told her that kissing was the most intimate thing she could do.

Ms Burns said the teenager had received text messages of a sexual nature which were ‘highly inappropriate for a teacher to send to a student’ before stripping down to a ‘little jockstrap’ with the girl in the room.

After the incidents, jurors were told the student had “tried many ways to get rid of him” and met him in a coffee shop in 2017 “to look him in the eye to break that specific memory.”

Speaking about the encounter, Ms Burns said: ‘He just said he was probably not aware of the damage he had caused. She was just a woman he had had an affair with.”

The 16-year-old girl felt

The 16-year-old girl felt “trapped in her body” as Morse kissed her, made her take off her clothes and tried to perform sex acts on her, jurors were told. Bitterne Park School (pictured) where the alleged incident took place

The prosecutor described the sex acts as “callous, uncaring and rash,” adding: “The effect on the then 16-year-old (girl) has remained with her to this day.”

In 2020, the woman went to the police, which led to his arrest.

Morse denies two counts of sexual activity in a position of trust.

The process continues.