Teacher's message to student after being found guilty of abduction Guilty: Jeremy Forrest. Sussex: A British maths teacher who took a 15-year-old student to France last October has been found guilty of child abduction. Jeremy Forrest, 30, a teacher at Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne, abducted the pupil to France last September, sparking an international manhunt. The jury of eight men and four women returned a unanimous verdict just two hours after retiring at Lewes Crown Court. He will be sentenced in Sussex on Friday. The pair was eventually apprehended in Bordeaux after eight days on the run. As the jury arrived back in court, Forrest turned to the schoolgirl, who was sitting at the back of the court, and said: "I love you." He did not react when the verdict was read out. The girl, who is now 16, buried her face in her hands, sobbing. As he was taken down to the cells, she told Forrest: "I'm sorry." Outside court, DCI Mark Ling, who led the police investigation, said Forrest had "grossly abused" the trust placed in him. "As a teacher, he was in a position of responsibility, authority and trust of the children in his care, which included this 15-year-old vulnerable victim," he said. His actions caused distress and anxiety amongst parents, family members and the school community. Forrest opted not to give evidence in his defence during the eight day case but was accused by the prosecution of grooming the teenager to "satisfy his own carnal lusts." The court heard that he told the girl he loved her last May, when she was still 14, before instigating their first kiss in his classroom and later sleeping with her regularly. The pair were said to have had sex in Forrest's marital home, in local hotels and in his car. The jury heard they had sex up to eight times a night and exchanged explicit photographs via text message. Richard Barton, prosecuting, said Forrest had abused his position of trust and had not acted with the consent of the girl's parents. He described Forrest as a "coward" who was solely motivated by his own desires. Ronald Jaffa, defending, claimed that Forrest had "succumbed" to the affections of the schoolgirl when he was at a low ebb and his marriage collapsed. Terry Boatwright, the head teacher at Bishop Bell School, insisted that its child protection policies were "robust" but promised to learn lessons from the case. "As a school community we have been saddened by the events which led up to this trial and the impact they have had on all concerned," he said. We remain deeply shocked by the actions of Mr Forrest and his betrayal of the trust that was placed in him. It is important that the strongest possible message is sent to all who work with children that they hold a position of responsibility and trust for the lives, and wellbeing, of those in their care. We take our responsibility extremely seriously and our safeguarding policies and procedures are robust. However, we are determined to implement any learning from these events to ensure that all pupils at the school are as safe as they possibly could be. East Sussex Local Safeguarding Children Board has launched a Serious Case Review and East Sussex County Council said it was working closely with the teenager and her family. A spokesman said: "East Sussex County Council expects very high professional standards from people working with children; similarly parents rightly expect exemplary behaviour from teachers who are entrusted with the education of their children," he said. The importance of appropriate relationship boundaries between staff and pupils cannot be overstated and we will not tolerate any behaviour that does not respect those boundaries. Stephen Lloyd, Tory MP for Eastbourne, said he was glad that justice has been done. " (Forrest's) behaviour was manipulative and a total dereliction of trust as a teacher," he said. My thoughts are with the young girl, her mother and all her family at this difficult time. I earnestly hope they can now move forward.