Beccles science teacher Mark Langford, who sexually assaulted pupil, sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court

A science and technology teacher who groomed and sexually assaulted a teenage pupil at a Suffolk school has been jailed.

Mark Langford, 55, formerly of Beccles, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court today, after pleading guilty to several charges at a hearing in July.

These included indecent assault, indecency with a child, perverting the course of justice, offences relating to indecent images of children – making, possession and distribution – and possession of extreme pornographic images.

An investigation revealed Langford groomed and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old he taught at a Suffolk school between 2004 and 2006.

In an impact statement read before the court, the victim said: “His manipulation, deceit and devious nature unnerves me as he is not the man he presented himself as for many years.

“What Mark needs to grasp is that I am thoroughly appalled and disgusted by his actions and haunted by the abuse I suffered at his hands… He disgusts me to the core and I am haunted by nightmares of the confessions he told me.

“I still feel I am carrying around his filthy secret that he expected me to keep for him. This repulses me that he thought I would prevent the course of justice …

“I am appalled, insulted and disgusted by everything he has told me and these confessions will stay with me for a long time. He has not only abused my body but my mind too.”

The court heard how Langford exchanged images on various peer-to-peer sites, and accessed a cloud-based storage platform used by paedophiles to trade child sexual abuse material.

Recovered online chat logs showed that he spoke with others about sexual abuse – with topics including child rape, encouraging others to sexually abuse their children, and the levels of pain and humiliation that needed to be inflicted on women and children to satisfy his sexual demands.

In addition, he also advised others on where to find sexual abuse material online.

Langford taught at various schools across Norfolk and Suffolk, from 1996 until his arrest.

He was dismissed by his employer in January last year.

The National Crime Agency launched an investigation in November 2021, after Google sent a report of a user storing sexual abuse material on its platform.

The agency then made moves to arrest him at his then-address in Beccles.

It was from this that his grooming and sexual assault of a pupil came to light.

Officers recovered a letter he wrote to the victim, instructing her on what to say should she be questioned.

This read: “Before you talk to him, please remember that it is his job to convict me – please do not give him any accidental ammunition against me.

“You can tell him you know I’m a porn addict, and that I was arrested for having indecent images of children.

“Don’t forget the ‘arrested for’ bit – don’t say I did it, or that I confessed to you, because that might drag you into court as a witness. I don’t know if it will, but that’s not a question I dare ask him.

The court also heard how, before he was arrested, Langford told officers: “It’s all in there, I know what you’re looking for, I’ve made a mistake and ruined everything.”

Five of his devices were forensically analysed, and contained 2,718 indecent images of children in categories A-C – A being the most severe.

A further 199 prohibited images and 109 extreme images were also found.

Langford was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison.

NCA operations manager Holly Triggs described Langford as a ‘cowardly and scheming offender’.

She added: “Not only did he abuse his position of trust, he asked his victim to stay quiet about his offending and the horrific conversations he had with other paedophiles online.

“The NCA works relentlessly to protect children from sexual abuse and ensure that those who abuse them face justice.”