Former Educating Cardiff teacher sentenced for sexual assault

Gareth Ritter, 44, of Bryngwyn, Monmouthshire, admitted the assault.

He also previously admitted two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and another of distributing an indecent photograph of a child.

The court heard that the assault took place in 2015 when Ritter, then 36, offered a 17-year-old girl a lift home after an event in Cardiff.

He then told her he needed to stop at a flat in Cardiff Bay.

Judge Dyfed Llion Thomas said: "You made comments there of how she looked, and how she dressed, which made her feel awkward and uncomfortable.

"You put your hand on her lower back, uninvited, and then moved it down to her backside, again uninvited."

The court was told that the victim moved away from Ritter and into the living room, where he asked if she wanted to see the bedroom.

He then moved toward her, pressing her back against the wall before kissing her.

Judge Thomas said: "She didn’t want any of this sexual contact that you inflicted on her that night.

"She made it quite clear that she didn’t want any form of sexual contact."

The victim managed to push Ritter away and told him she was a "good girl" who didn’t do "this sort of thing" because she attended a Christian school, and that her father would be expecting her home.

On the journey, Ritter told her not to tell anyone about what had happened.

The assault only came to light later when police contacted the victim about indecent images of her found in Ritter’s possession.

He claimed the images had been sent to him by someone else.

Judge Thomas said: "(The victim) told the court during the trial in evidence what many, many people who are victims of sexual assault say – who is going to believe me?

"Well, she is believed, Mr Ritter, and everyone knows that what she told the court was true."

Ritter was sentenced to 33 months in prison, suspended for 30 months.

Judge Thomas said the sentence was suspended with "a certain degree of reluctance," describing the offence as a "cruel assault on a young woman by an older man" who had "isolated her" by taking her to the flat.

He added: "I think you targeted her on that night, you took her to a location where you knew you would be alone."

Ritter was described in court as being well-known in his community and respected as a brass band conductor.

Jenny Yeo, defending, said Ritter had lost his long-standing careers in teaching and music as a result of his actions and was now seeking therapy.

She said he had no previous convictions and was "sorry beyond words for the stress and pain he has caused" his victim.

Ms Yeo said: "He has learned a very hard lesson and he assured me and the court that it will never be repeated."