A retired teacher received a one-year suspended prison sentence from a Grenoble court on Tuesday for having repeated sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl.

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The man, now 62, was convicted of having sex with the former student, who was 46 years younger than him, over a six-month period in 2010, AFP reported.

The court also ordered him to pay the girl’s mother 3,000 euros in damages.

The prosecution had sought a three-year prison term, partially suspended.

The victim’s mother, who is no longer on speaking terms with her daughter as a result of the scandal, was “evidently extremely disappointed” with the sentence, her lawyer, Simon Bergeras, is quoted as saying by AFP.

She felt it was “unfortunately not a penalty of the kind to send a strong signal to teachers who might be tempted to cross the red line”, Bergeras said.

The mother, a civil party in the case, filed a complaint against the former teacher for “sexual assault of a minor under the age of 15”.
 
The incidents occurred between July and December 2010 when the former teacher was giving a one-on-one course to the adolescent.

The lawyer for the teacher said the mild sentence “was a becalming decision that allowed everyone to turn the page,” AFP reported.

His client, who lives near Grenoble, “recognised, assumed and regretted the facts”, he said.

The case follows a six-month jail sentence handed to a 39-year-old woman earlier this month by a court in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) for having sexual relations with a 12-year-old boy.

The teacher, who taught at a traditional Catholic school, testified that she had experienced a “love story” with the child.

In addition to the prison term, the court banned her from praticising any activity that brought her into contact with minors.