Lytham music teacher jailed for sexually abusing girl

Gary Fox was convicted of seven offences

A music teacher has been jailed for grooming and sexually abusing a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.

Police said married Gary Fox, now 62, sexually assaulted the girl, starting from when she was14 years old, in 1999 and 2000.

Fox, of Clifton Drive North in Lytham, was convicted of seven indecent assaults and jailed at Preston Crown Court for six and a half years.

Lancashire Police has praised his victim's bravery.

The force said Fox started making inappropriate comments to the girl soon after his lessons started before moving on to physical abuse.

Investigating officer Mick Cross said Fox "made a deliberate decision to pursue a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl".

"He must have known known that this was wrong, especially as she was his student and he had a duty of care to her," he said.

"It did not stop him. He effectively groomed and then sexually assaulted a child in order to satisfy his own sexual urges."

Howard Gough, head of the North West CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said Fox was in a position of trust and "exploited a young girl for his own sexual gratification".

Fox was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders' register.

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