PICKERING Town Council has dismissed its clerk following his conviction for raping and indecently assaulting a teenage girl.

James Andrew Husband, a former history teacher, was sentenced on Friday to 17 years for raping and indecently assaulting one of his pupils.

Husband, 68, of Wigginton, York, is the fifth teacher from leading independent school Christ’s Hospital School, in Horsham, West Sussex, to be convicted of sexually abusing students.

Husband was convicted of one charge of rape and five of indecent assault, all committed over a three-year period, between 1990 and 1994, starting when the victim was 14-years-old. Husband had denied all charges.

In a personal statement, the victim told Hove Crown Court Husband had groomed and moulded her into his “plaything” and “puppet” so “he could do what he wanted to me”.

She said: “He twisted my mind to abuse my body and made my body feel dirty and degraded until I believed this to be true.”

The abuse had cost her a place at Cambridge University and left her with a “life sentence” of anorexia, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “Husband used and abused his position of trust in the worst possible way and then tried to claim his sickening behaviour was nothing more than consensual sex.

“His jailing will hopefully give some sort of closure to his victim and at the same time encourage other people in a similar position to come forward and report what has happened to them.”

Judge Christine Henson QC told Husband: “You put yourself in the position of her mentor in order to make her feel special and dependent on you so you could do what you wanted sexually with her.

“She viewed you as a father figure, thus rendering the abuse of trust particularly acute.”

Husband was jailed for 17 years, put on the sex offenders’ register for life and banned from working with children.

His barrister Charlotte Newell said: “He was a great teacher, inspirational to very many students who he taught over very many years, he inspired many students to aim high in their academic aspirations.”

She added: “The shame will live with him emotionally and socially for life.”

A statement from Pickering Town Council said: “Throughout this unprecedented and very difficult period for all concerned, Pickering Town Council has taken legal and procedural advice from the Yorkshire Local Councils Association and the National Association for Local Councils.

“The council has unanimously decided to dismiss James Andrew Husband from the council’s employment from the date of his conviction.

“Pickering Town Council offers its sympathy to all those affected by this distressing case.”