A teacher who asked a pupil at a Moray school to send him explicit pictures of herself has been jailed for two years.
Jonathan Wylie’s offences were branded “despicable” by a sheriff yesterday who accused the former PE teacher of betraying the trust of his position.
The 33-year-old, who now lives in the Highlands, was found guilty of three charges, all relating to the same teenage girl, by a jury following a three day trial at Elgin Sheriff Court last month.
Wylie was found to have asked the girl send him an indecent image of herself, and indicating that he wanted her to perform sexual acts.
The jury also found him guilty of intentionally sending written sexual communications to the same pupil, asking her to supply explicit photographs.
He was convicted of a third charge of taking, or permitting the taking of, indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs, of a child.
Defence advocate Bill Adam told the court yesterday that Wylie maintains his innocence.
He was suspended from his post as acting head of PE at Elgin Academy in 2013 after the allegations came to light and had been on paid leave while the investigation took place.
Yesterday the court heard that he had been dismissed from his position after being found guilty and a Moray Council spokesman said that they had “robust” child protections cases in place to deal with cases like Wylie’s.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov sentenced Wylie to two years in jail with an extended period of a further 24 months under licence.
In passing sentence, Sheriff Pasportnikov said Wylie had committed “despicable offences” which amounted to “planned and predatory behaviour”.
During his trial it emerged that a police investigation into Wylie’s internet activity revealed online searches for girls as young as 12.
A forensic analyst told the court he had visited sites with titles such as “best jailbait albums ever”.
Wylie is originally from Elgin, but now lives in Maryburgh, in Ross-shire.
A spokesman for Moray Council said: “Wylie was immediately suspended from his post once the allegations were made and dismissed when he was found guilty by the court.”